


with the birds and the bees

by captain_kriegy



Category: Grey's Anatomy, Station 19 (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:33:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 39,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25701391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captain_kriegy/pseuds/captain_kriegy
Summary: maya and carina go on a ten day road trip down the west coast.
Relationships: Maya Bishop/Carina DeLuca
Comments: 96
Kudos: 293





	1. day one: portland

Maya rolls out of bed at her normal hour—5am. Carina sighs at the loss of Maya’s warm body pressed against her own and promptly falls back asleep. Maya gets dressed in her typical summer running gear—Nike pros, because she owns endless pairs after being a Nike athlete for a few years—and a sports bra. She gives Carina a little kiss on the head before she leaves, not wanting to disturb her sleeping girlfriend. 

When she gets back from her run, sweaty and exhausted, she throws her clothes in the laundry and climbs in the shower. Carina takes Maya’s arrival as her queue to also get up and drag herself into the shower. She seriously doesn’t know how she ever had the motivation to get out of bed before one on one time with naked Maya was a part of her morning routine. She helps Maya wash her hair and they share a few soft kisses. They press their foreheads together, closing their eyes, and Maya’s hands roam Carina’s spine. 

“How was your run?” Carina asks, her hands on Maya’s neck. Maya kisses her one more time before forcing herself to pull away, since they need to get on the road soon. 

“Good, I’m excited,” Maya replies, a big smile on her face. Carina stares a little as Maya washes off, and Maya does the same when it’s Carina’s turn. But other than that, their shower is just that: a shared shower, some time that feels intimate together, but mostly just them getting ready for the day. 

Carina makes the coffee while Maya blow dries her hair, and by 7am, they’ve packed up the rental car and are on the road down to Portland. Maya is taking the first driving shift, since Carina was at work late the night before. Carina plays with the music, putting on a playlist of some of her favorite Italian musicians. 

“I’m so glad we are finally doing this, bella,” Carina says, smiling at her beautiful girlfriend. Carina had convinced her to agree to a no-makeup pact on this trip, since it would include camping and airbnb’s, and Carina secretly loves Maya’s natural look. 

“Me, too,” Maya replies. “I can’t wait for the Redwoods.” 

Carina chuckles, knowing that Maya has been talking about seeing the Redwoods as long as she can remember. Carina is more of a beach and pool resort vacation kind of girl, but Maya loves camping and hiking and had suggested a camping trip. Somewhere along the line, they’d settled on a west coast road trip—some stops in cities, like Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and ending in San Diego, but also with some stops in national forests and parks where they’d be able to camp and hike and engage with nature. There would be something for both of them. 

“I can’t wait to go to Disneyland,” Carina teases, knowing it will annoy Maya. Disneyland was also a compromise—Maya thought it was ridiculous for them to go to an amusement park on this particular trip, but Carina had never been and wanted to go, and Maya had relented upon realizing that seeing Carina with childlike excitement over Disneyland for a few hours will probably be one of the cutest things she’ll ever see. 

They arrive in Portland around 9:30, and their first stop is for brunch. Carina orders a stack of pancakes that is bigger than her head, and Maya gets a kick out of watching Carina give her thoughts on them. 

“Pancakes are such a strange food,” Carina muses, grabbing a strawberry off Maya’s plate and eating it along with a bite of pancake. “They’re so fluffy.” 

Maya smiles and takes a bite of Carina’s pancake. “These are good pancakes,” Maya insists. 

“There’s just something wrong with pancakes. Only the Americans would decide to ruin crepes like this.” 

“Pancakes are just different,” Maya argues. “You can’t compare them to crepes.” 

“You’re right, I can’t compare them, because pancakes are so much worse.” 

“Well then, why did you order a whole plate of them?!” 

Carina laughs and places her hand on top of Maya’s. “Because I like to feel like I’m getting the full American experience, on my American road trip, with my beautiful American girlfriend.” 

“Promise me our next road trip will be through Italy?” Maya suggests. “I want to go to vineyards and see the Italian countryside. And see Sicily. And Rome, and Venice, and Florence. Oh, and Verona.” 

“It would be my pleasure to explore Italy with you, bella,” Carina says, that big smile on her face that always melts Maya’s heart. 

After brunch, they take a self-guided bike tour through the city. It’s nice to get their legs moving and to see some of the sites a bit faster. Carina almost topples over a curb at one point, but manages to stay upright. It’s a bit hot and they’re both sweaty and sticky after the bike ride, Carina seriously regretting her choice to wear jeans. After they return the bikes, Carina grabs a pair of loose shorts out of the car to change into.

“Did I or did I not say ‘oh, babe, we are going on that bike tour later, are you sure you want to wear jeans?’ this morning?” Maya muses as Carina inspects the places her jeans have pinched her skin. Carina glares at her, and Maya softens, seeing just how uncomfortable her girlfriend looks. 

“At least you get to sit down for the rest of the day?” 

They grab some quick food and then head to an evening soccer game for the Portland Thorns, the women’s professional team in the city. Carina buys Maya a black Portland Thorns SnapBack, insisting that Maya looks cute in hats. Maya puts it on backwards and starts walking back towards their seats, and Carina immediately regrets her decision. Her girlfriend in a SnapBack is too cute. She wraps her arms around Maya from behind and Maya chuckles when she presses a kiss to her shoulder and then lets her go. 

“You look so cute,” Carina notes, playing with the hat. Maya smirks and takes it off her head, instead putting it on Carina’s. “Oh, no, no,” Carina insists, taking it off. “Not for me.” 

“Oh, shut up, you look adorable in hats,” Maya insists, finally leading her girlfriend to her seats. 

“They make my hair gross,” Carina complains. Maya can’t argue with that, so instead they sit down and start sharing some of their snacks they bought while they wait for the game to start.

Carina is a huge fan of soccer (“football” as she knows it), but has never seen women play. Maya, on the other hand, is not a huge fan of the sport itself, but played a bit growing up and then had the pleasure of meeting some of the players from the U.S. Women’s National Team at the London 2012 Olympics, and has followed women’s soccer very loosely since, mostly out of admiration for how the team has made women athletes household names. Carina rambles to her about her thoughts on the playing and the game throughout, and Maya chimes in here or there with a “oh, I met that person at the Olympics,” or “oh, I follow her on Instagram,” or “wow, she’s fast.” But, for the most part, Maya just tries to watch the game and take in how absolutely adorable her girlfriend’s commentary is. Carina always gets heated while watching sports, and this is no exception. Maya has to put a hand on her thigh to remind her to calm down when she starts cursing in Italian over a bad tackle. 

“Are you laughing at me!?” Carina accuses. Maya bites her lip but can’t help the smile across her face. 

“You’re just cute. You’re really invested. And I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. And I love it when you ramble in Italian to yourself,” Maya replies, gently squeezing Carina’s bare thigh. 

The Thorns win, 3-1 over Chicago. It’s a decisive win, and although Maya has no real investment in the team itself, it’s always fun for the home team to win when you’re at a sporting event. 

“I’m so impressed by how big their fan base is, and how...legit it all is,” Maya notes as they walk out, hand in hand. 

“Yes, women’s football is...no big thing in Italy,” Carina replies. “In America it seems like more people watch women’s football than men’s.” 

“Maybe because women are better,” Maya teases. “It makes me think of how different my life would be if women’s running was also a huge sport. Not that I’d necessarily have wanted the attention and the responsibility of that, I wasn’t mature enough to handle even the brief spotlight I did have. But really makes me wonder, if this means that women’s sports are going to become more mainstream across the board,” Maya explains. Carina takes in what she’s saying and thinks through her response as she climbs in the passenger's seat and plugs the address for their Airbnb into Google Maps so she can help Maya navigate. 

“I do think that women’s sports are becoming more popular, across the world,” Carina replies, once they’re on the road. “Did you...consider continuing to run after the Olympics?” Carina asks, hesitant. They’ve never really talked about why Maya stopped running, aside from the fact that she had reached her goal and decided that the chapter was over. 

“Yeah,” Maya replies, quietly. “At one point, I thought I would run for as many years as my body could take it. When I was signed after college, my coaches and I discussed going into long distance after 2012. I always wanted to run a marathon,” Maya explains. Carina takes her free hand in her own, and tells her to make a left to stay on the road ahead. “But then, my ankle was in bad shape after the Olympics, so I was going to need time off to heal anyway, and I just...had developed a toxic relationship with running. The Olympics were amazing in so many ways, but the idea of basically starting from scratch all over and how long it would take me to become competitive at long distance, and the thought that I just might not ever be a great long distance runner, it was just too overwhelming. And once I won at 10,000 meters, it wouldn’t have made sense for me to continue running that distance, I think the pressure to keep winning would’ve eaten me alive.” 

“Why do I feel like there’s more to the story?” Carina asks. 

“Because there is,” Maya replies. “I, uh, don’t think I’m ready to talk about it yet, in detail. But my coaches were very much like my dad, and that’s why I got along with them well and that’s why their training methods worked for me. But, now that I have more...tools in my toolbox, I understand that the reason I felt so trapped by running was in part because of the environment that I was in, not only with my dad, but also with my college and professional coaches,” Maya admits. 

Carina nods. She’s not surprised to hear this—there had been lots of news reports lately about toxic sports environments. They pull into the Airbnb and just sit in the car together for a minute.

“I’m sorry I ruined the vibe,” Maya notes. 

“You didn’t ruin any vibe, Maya. I love talking to you and hearing about you. We don’t have to talk any more about it if that’s what you want.” 

“That’s what I want.” 

Maya goes straight into the shower when they get into their Airbnb, and Carina decides to hang back and let her. Carina searches out the kitchen to find something they can eat. Maya’s still a bit quiet after her shower, sitting across from Carina on the couch curled up in a sweatshirt nibbling on some crackers. Carina leans in to wrap her arms around Maya. 

“I love you, bella,” Carina reminds her. Maya nods.

“I love you, too, dork,” Maya replies, a big smile spreading across her face. Carina smiles in response, just glad her girlfriend’s silly sense of humor is back and she looks less sad. “Now go shower, you’re smelly,” Maya insists. Carina agrees, and heads into the shower. She loves taking showers with Maya, but she also loves getting some alone time when she showers. She reflects on the day—the short drive in the morning, the brunch on the patio, the bike tour that ate up her thighs, and the soccer game. Knowing it’s only been one day, and that there are so many more adventures to come is thrilling. She gets distracted thinking about life and the road trip, and realizes she’s been showering for a bit longer than is probably kind in a place where she’s not paying the water bill, so she finally wraps up her shower and dries off. She’s in the middle of putting lotion on her legs, her wet hair dripping down her back, when she hears moaning. 

Her first instinct is that Maya must be watching some kind of movie or TV show with a sex scene. But, then she’s immediately completely confident that the little noises and moans she’s hearing are her girlfriend’s. Carina wraps a towel around her body and frantically tries to squeeze some more water out of her hair so that it’s not dripping everywhere before opening the door from the bathroom into the bedroom. 

In front of her is her naked girlfriend, laying on her back on top of a few towels, legs spread, back arched, fucking herself with a vibrator. Carina is stunned into silence, mouth agape. She watches intently, licking her lips subconsciously, her feet rooted to the spot. The last time she saw her girlfriend, she was wearing too many layers and eating crackers with a half-sad expression. If there was anything Carina was not expecting to see when she got out of the shower, it was Maya masturbating. Maya thrusts the vibrator inside herself a few times before rubbing it up her folds to bump her clit, and then repeating the pattern. Maya is absolutely soaked and Carina’s throat runs dry, her pupils dilating and her own center starting to pulse with need. Carina bites down on her bottom lip, trying to string together a coherent thought. Maya turns the vibrator up and lets out a guttural moan when she presses it against her g spot. 

At that, Carina springs into action. She lets her towel drop to the floor and climbs onto the bed with Maya, pushing her hand aside. Maya drops the vibrator on the towel on the bed next to her opens her legs wider, a devious look on her face. Carina doesn’t even notice, too focused on getting comfortable so she can get to work, hooking her arms around her muscular thighs and starting to lick her soaked pussy. Maya arches her back and moans loudly, losing that little bit of control she thought she had the moment prior. Her hand flies to Carina’s head as her eyes fall closed and Carina tries to hold her hips still. 

Carina sucks and licks all over her wet folds, trying to lap up all of her arousal. Carina moves her mouth just fast enough to get Maya going without overwhelming her. She closes her eyes, letting it heighten the sensations of Maya’s hand in her hair and smell of Maya’s arousal and taste of her wet pussy on her tongue. 

“Ohhhhh oh oh,” Maya moans, not even trying to stay quiet. She can already feel the tightening in her belly and she is desperate to cum. Carina knows exactly how to eat her to make her cum fast, and Maya is so grateful that Carina is not trying to draw this out. Maya runs her hand through Carina’s hair and her abs flex as Carina starts to lick her clit.

“CARiiiiiiina,” Maya moans. She can’t take it. It’s too much. She’s soaked and her girlfriend is licking and sucking her sensitive clit. Her thigh quivers, and Maya whines, so Carina knows she’s just about there. Carina sucks on her clit and teases it with her teeth, knowing a little teeth always gets Maya off. Maya gasps as she cums hard, her body flying off the bed and her mouth opening and face contorting in pure desperation, losing total control over her body. Carina eagerly licks the rest of her pussy, trying to taste as much of her girlfriend as she can until Maya whines and pushes her head to tell her it’s too much. Carina licks her lips happily and kisses up Maya’s body, licking between her breasts and avoiding the temptation to start sucking on her nipples, knowing that Maya is sensitive from her orgasm. 

“Thank you for the show, bambina,” Carina teases, before leaning in to kiss her girlfriend. Maya moans at the taste of her soaked mouth. One of Maya’s hands finds Carina’s jaw, smirking against her lips as she feels how wet her chin is. Maya deepens the kiss and sucks on her tongue, loving the opportunity to taste herself. Carina starts to buck her hips against Maya’s thigh subconsciously, and Maya moans in her mouth at the feeling of Carina’s wet pussy. She tugs Carina’s hips up a bit, so that Carina is grinding on her stomach and leaning down to kiss Maya still. Maya smirks against her lips and squeezes her ass teasingly. 

“Get on my face,” Maya directs. 

“You sure?” Carina asks. Maya smiles and nods.

“So sure. Please get up here so I can taste you.”

Carina lowers her hips down onto Maya’s mouth. Maya moans into Carina’s soaking wet pussy and starts to lick her enthusiastically. She wants to give as good as she got. Carina takes what she needs, holding onto the headboard with one hand and Maya’s short dark hair with the other, little sounds falling from her lips with each buck of her hips. Maya knows exactly what she needs and Carina is getting there not just because of Maya’s mouth, but also the illusion of power that she gets from sitting on her face.

Carina’s hips start bucking on their own, wildly, and Carina can’t do much but moan and hold on to her girlfriend. After a particularly rough thrust, she worries she’s hurting Maya.

“Is this ok?” Carina asks, picking her hips up for a minute. “Can you breathe?”

“I’m good, don’t worry. I’ll pinch you if I need you to move, promise,” Maya insists. Carina stays for another moment until Maya takes it upon herself to tug Carina’s hips back to her mouth, making Carina gasp out in pleasant surprise. Carina starts to lose her mind again, fucking Maya’s face hard and fast. Maya breathes through her nose as much as she can, but it doesn’t bother her—she loves eating Carina’s wet pussy, even when it makes it hard to breathe.

“MAYA,” Carina moans, feeling her body tingling in anticipation of an orgasm. Maya holds her hips to try to stabilize her and licks her with long, hard licks, her tongue and jaw starting to ache in the best way. Carina lets out a slew of moans that tell Maya she’s almost there. Carina pushes her clit against Maya’s nose accidentally, making it hard for Maya to breathe momentarily. But it’s more than worth it. Carina lets out a strangled, desperate moan and pushes her hips down hard, her head falling back. And then, she squirts all over Maya’s mouth. The liquid gushing out of Carina surprises both of them, and in that moment, Carina feels like every single one of her nerve endings are in pure pleasure. 

“Oh my, bella,” Carina mumbles, bonelessly flopping off of Maya’s face onto the bed next to her. She mumbles a few things in Italian and Maya recovers from her excitement and shock and gives Carina a soft kiss on the cheek and snuggles up to her.

“I’m so sorry,” Carina starts. “I had no idea...usually I can tell that it’s gonna happen but it all just happened too fast.”

“Shh, baby, it’s ok. It took me by surprise but it was hot. I’m always happy when I’m making you feel good,” Maya promises, twirling Carina’s hair softly. 

“I’m so embarrassed,” Carina admits. “I should’ve known to get off.”

“Carina,” Maya says, a bit more seriously, holding Carina's chin so she can look in her eyes. “Stop feeling bad. I enjoyed it. And I know you enjoyed it, too. That’s all that matters. No shame around sex and bodies and natural responses to pleasure, ok?” Maya insists. Carina nods and Maya places a soft kiss on her lips. 

“I can’t believe you brought that vibrator,” Carina says, intertwining her fingers with Maya’s so she can hold her hand, letting her head fall back. “Thank God you put towels down.” 

“We should definitely toss the sheets in the laundry before we leave anyway, but yeah, I figured things always get messy with the two of us,” Maya replies. 

“Well, bella, there was only one of us here when you got started,” Carina points out, an eyebrow raised. 

“I figured that what I needed to boost my mood was a little bit of...self-care,” Maya explains. “I wanted to put on a show for you.” 

“My girlfriend, ever the exhibitionist.” 

“You love that I’m an exhibitionist,” Maya reminds her, biting down on her bare shoulder playfully. 

“Usually, yes,” Carina qualifies, a smirk playing across her face. Maya leans in to kiss her and bite her bottom lip before snuggling up against her side. They lay like that for a while, cuddled together, moving only to wash up and toss the towels in the laundry before getting back in bed. 

“We leaving at 7 again?” Carina asks, pressing soft kisses across Maya’s shoulder blades. 

“That’s good with me,” Maya replies, holding one of Carina’s hands in front of her, playing with her fingers. Carina leans over to set the alarm on her phone. 

“Goodnight, bella,” Carina whispers, pressing a final kiss to Maya’s head before settling in to sleep. 

Maya has no idea how she got so lucky.


	2. day 2: umpqua national forest

For one of the first times ever, Carina wakes up to the feeling of Maya climbing back into bed with her and holding her. 

“Maya,” Carina mumbles, as Maya pulls her in to rub her back. 

“Morning, beautiful” Maya replies, a little bit of pep in her voice. 

“What time is it?” Carina asks, barely audibly against Maya’s skin. 

“Ten more minutes until we have to shower,” Maya tells her. She presses soft kisses to Carina’s shoulder and just holds her sleepy girlfriend. 

“Why are you?” Carina asks. Maya chuckles at her nonsensical question, smiling against her skin.

“I just did some yoga this morning, so I figured I’m not too gross to climb back in bed and hold my favorite girl.” 

“No running?” Carina asks, sleep heavy in her voice. Maya just kisses the top of her head and closes her eyes. 

“Not today.” 

After they take their morning shower, make sure all of the laundry is done and the place is clean, they give back their keys and get into the rental car for the short 2.5 hour drive. Carina drives, since Maya drove the day before. They drive through a Starbucks, although they both insist that they don’t like Starbucks and are only stopping because it’s conveniently next to the Airbnb, has a drive thru, and they didn’t have any coffee maker at the Airbnb. 

“ICED macchiatos? They sell ICED macchiatos, Maya,” Carina exclaims, looking at the menu as they wait in line for their turn to order. 

“The Iced Caramel Macchiato is actually not that bad,” Maya replies. Carina looks at her in horror, and Maya shrugs. “What do you want?” Carina asks, so that she can order for Maya.

“Just a grande cold brew,” Maya says, reading a text from Andy about how covering Maya’s Captain position while she’s gone is not as fun as she remembered it being from her time as Interim Captain. 

Carina orders herself an almond milk latte as well as Maya’s iced coffee. She fumbles around with her wallet and pays and grabs their drinks. She drives up a bit to get out of the way and Maya puts her phone down to put the straw in her drink and then makes sure she has the right address up in Google Maps. 

“Can I try?” Carina asks, pointing towards Maya’s drink.

“It’s disgusting, but sure,” Maya replies with a shrug. Carina raises an eyebrow, picks up Maya’s drink, takes a sip, and then scrunches her face up and starts cursing in Italian. Maya laughs, starting the Google Maps directions and smiling at her girlfriend. “I warned you.” 

“How do you drink this!?! What is wrong with you!?” Carina exclaims. Maya bites her lip and then breaks out in a smile. 

“I don’t drink it because it tastes good. I drink it for the caffeine,” Maya explains. Carina shakes her head and then the car behind them honks at them. “You’re making a right here.” 

The drive goes pretty smoothly. Andy calls to ask Maya some questions about work, and Maya talks to her for a few minutes until Carina takes the phone out of Maya’s hand, tosses it on speaker, and insists that Andy let Maya relax on her vacation and stop distracting her navigator. Andy dutifully hangs up the phone and Maya rolls her eyes at Carina’s antics, but lets Carina put on the music of her choice for the rest of the trip. 

“So, can I ask how things are going with Andrew?” Maya asks, a bit hesitant to broach the subject. Google Maps pipes in to tell Carina she’s getting off in two miles, so Carina tells Maya that they’ll talk about it later. Maya leans over and puts a hand on Carina’s knee for a moment, squeezing it before pulling it back. 

“I love you,” Maya mumbles. “It’s this next exit,” she adds quickly. She’s still getting used to saying “I love you,” more naturally in her daily life. It always feels...a little scary when she says it. But she knows Carina likes to be reminded. Especially when she’s feeling vulnerable. 

“I love you too, Bella. Even though you drink that disgusting excuse for coffee,” she huffs. Maya smiles a little and helps Carina navigate the rest of the way to their next destination: Umpqua National Forest, and, more specifically, Diamond Lake. They find their way to where they can park, and then get their stuff set up in the cabin they rented for the night. 

“Don’t get used to this. This is not camping. This is me easing you into camping,” Maya reminds her. 

“Remind me what your plan is?” Carina asks, tossing down her stuff and circling her arms around Maya’s waist. 

“Okay, so today we are going to go hiking and we are going tubing this evening. And then, tomorrow morning, we are going to rent bikes,” Maya explains. Carina kisses Maya gently. 

“I can’t wait to see you in a bathing suit,” Carina smirks. 

“Why be excited about the bathing suit when you can see me naked whenever you want?” Maya teases in reply. 

“Oh?” Carina asks. “Let me help you change for our hiking trip,” she proposes. Maya smirks and nods. They undress each other nice and slow, before just kissing and holding each other, naked bodies pressed together. Maya’s hands roam Carina’s back, her thumb running across her spine. Carina cups her cheek and plays with her hair mindlessly between kisses. Maya placed a few more soft kisses on her girlfriend’s lips before pulling back gently and resting her head on her shoulder, just appreciating their bodies touching.

“We have to get ready,” Maya says. 

“Or we could do, other, less clothed things,” Carina teases. Maya gives her a soft glare.

“I am taking you hiking, no excuses. You don’t get to use this...beautiful, perfect body of yours to get out of it. You wanted American road trip with your American girlfriend? You get hiking,” Maya explains, her no-nonsense attitude coming to the forefront. Carina laughs and nods, and kisses Maya’s jaw before pulling back to get dressed. Carina watches Maya put on her white sports bra, black underwear, dark green cargo pants, and a tank top. When Maya turns around, Carina is still naked, staring at her.

“Do you need help getting dressed, Dr. DaLuca?” Maya teases. 

“I was just, enjoying the view,” Carina muses. 

“Do you really not want to go?” Maya asks, turning serious. Carina quickly backtracks.

“No, I do! Of course I do, bella. I just was teasing you,” Carina insists. Maya bites her lip and tries to evaluate whether she believes her. “Maya,” Carina says, a beat later. Maya nods and goes off to start making sure their backpacks are packed. Carina changes and they head off towards the hiking trail, Maya leading the way. They don’t talk a lot at first, which isn’t inherently weird—sometimes quiet time is good, especially when you’re around someone all day. But this quiet time feels like tension, and Carina doesn’t know what she’s done wrong. 

“Maya, I’m sorry I upset you,” Carina says. Maya just keeps walking along, Carina following behind her, looking down at the ground to avoid tripping on roots and rocks. 

“You didn’t upset me,” Maya insists. 

“I feel like I did.” 

Maya sighs. “I just don’t like feeling like I’m making you do things. I know hiking isn’t your thing, and if you really don’t want to be here, we shouldn’t be here. This is your vacation, too,” Maya rambles. Carina reaches forward to hold onto Maya’s arm, and Maya turns towards her, but looks at the ground. 

“Maya, bella. I love you. I would do anything with you, happily. Any time I get to spend with you is my ideal vacation. And, even more, I’m excited to learn more about the activities that you like. Although hiking isn’t exactly my...thing, as you said, being with you is and I want you to show me all around this beautiful forest. And I want to see you smile. I promise, I would tell you if I really did not want to be here. What I said earlier, it wasn’t about hiking. I wasn’t thinking,” Carina rambles. Maya sighs and Carina reaches for her hand, playing with her fingers. 

“I’m sorry, I was being dramatic, I guess,” Maya admits. “I just want you to be happy,” she mumbles. Carina smiles and brings her hand up to her face to kiss it. 

“You make me the happiest person ever,” Carina tells her. Maya laughs and shakes her head. “I love you, for you. For this heart,” Carina adds, putting her hand over Maya’s heart. “I know it’s hard to believe that someone really loves you for who you are and wants to be around you and cares about you. It’s hard for me to accept that you really love me, too. But I’m here to remind you.” 

Maya bites her lip and looks up, feeling surprisingly emotional. “You don’t always have to be the strong one,” Maya tells her, holding her hand. 

“Maya,” Carina starts. 

“No, you got to say a cute thing, now you have to let me say a cute thing,” Maya insists, lacing her fingers with Carina’s. “I struggle to feel worthy of your love. You’re right. We both know why. But you...you put everyone else first all the time. Your brother, your family, me, your patients. Everyone is always asking you to sacrifice and everyone always needs something from you, emotionally. I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to be the person you have to constantly reassure. You’re my girlfriend, not my therapist. I love you, and I want you to feel like you can lean on me.” 

“Bella,” Carina says, shaking her head a little, a small smile on her lips. 

“I’m not wrong,” Maya insists. 

“You are that person for me. I do lean on you,” Carina replies. Maya shrugs. “I...am trying.” 

“Okay,” Maya says, squeezing her hand. “I just want to be the best me for you.” 

“Me too. Now, let’s get going on this hike so that we can tube before we lose daylight,” Carina demands. Maya laughs and squeezes her hand again before they break apart and keep walking.  
They’re quiet for a little while after, but this time it’s comfortable quiet. They stop for water breaks, but otherwise, they just enjoy the beautiful scenery and each other’s presence. Carina is exhausted, sweaty, and her calves burn as they make their way up the mountain. When they stop for another water break, Maya sprays some of her water on Carina’s head, and then squirts some water on her hand and presses it to the back of Carina’s neck. 

“You okay?” Maya asks. Carina’s face is beet red, and Maya is actually a little concerned that maybe this hike was a bit too intense for Carina’s introduction to hiking, especially given that it’s pretty hot out to start with. 

“That feels good,” Carina says, closing her eyes for a moment. 

“We’re almost there,” Maya promises. Carina nods and they go on with the hike. About twenty minutes later, they finally make it to the peak. 

“Wow,” Carina whispers. Maya puts more water in her hand and holds it against Carina’s neck again, and leans in to kiss her lips softly. They hold hands and take a moment to take in the view. Carina leans her head on Maya’s shoulder, and Maya wraps an arm around her waist. 

“You gonna be okay to make it back?” Maya asks, still a little concerned. Carina insists she’ll be fine. They go slowly, Maya talking Carina through some of the more challenging parts of the decline. By the time they get halfway down, Carina is out of water and Maya is handing over her bottle. 

“You drink your water,” Carina mumbles. 

Maya laughs. “Take the water, I’m fine.” 

Maya pampers Carina, making sure she’s cool and helping to make sure she doesn’t trip. Carina is out of her element, and although she is far from weak, the reality is that Maya’s body is much more accustomed to this than she is. By the time they make it back to the cabin, Maya is grabbing all the snacks she can find in their bags, sitting Carina down, and handing her another bottle of water and snacks. 

“I’m okay,” Carina insists. 

“Eat the snack, please,” Maya replies. “For me.”  
Once Maya is satisfied that Carina is indeed okay, they change into bathing suits and head over to pick up their tubes. It’s a long walk–about two miles—but they know it’ll be worth it. Neither of them have ever been tubing, but as soon as Maya described it as just sitting on a tube in her bikini, Carina was sold. They get set up and on the lake, trying to hold hands to stay together as they float down.

“What a perfect way to end a perfect day,” Carina smiles, squeezing Maya’s hand and tugging her closer. Their tubes bounce off each other and they lose contact, and Carina squeals. 

The tubing is relaxing, and it feels good for both of them to get their legs elevated after the hot afternoon of hiking. It’s a relatively quiet adventure, aside from when one of them messes with the other or splashes water on the other or points something out. Maya thinks about how beautiful the water and the trees are. And about how much she loves nature. Hiking and camping used to feel like proving something. But floating down the lake with her beautiful, sweet, brilliant, caring girlfriend, she doesn’t feel the need to prove anything to anyone. For the first time in her life, she’s proud of herself, not for what she’s accomplished, but for who she is becoming. She’s taken charge of her own health and her own relationships; she’s gained agency. She no longer looks at clouds or water and thinks about dying. Instead, she looks at clouds and water and thinks about how grateful she is to be alive. 

After they make it to the end of their tubing route, they give back the tubes and head back to the cabin. The first order of business is food—they’d brought with them some stuff they could just toss in the microwave in the cabin. After a quick meal, they hop in the shower. 

“How are your legs?” Maya asks, handing Carina the shampoo. 

“Sore,” Carina admits. “So is my back.” 

“I’ll give you a massage when we get out,” Maya promises. They share some soft kisses, hands roaming naked bodies as they help each other wash off. They’re both dirty from the hike and got wet in the lake, so they both feel pretty gross. 

“I was so sweaty on that hike,” Carina laughs. “You had your hand on my sweaty neck. That’s love.”

Maya laughs. “Oh, trust me, I’ve seen a lot more sweat in my day.” 

“I felt so gross.” 

“You were a little sweaty, but I was just worried you were overheating and dehydrated.” 

“I was fine!” Carina insists. Maya raises an eyebrow and then kisses her cheek. 

“No, you were not fine. Now, get your cute butt in that bed so I can massage your knotted legs.” 

If there’s one thing Maya is good at from her time as an athlete, it’s sports massages. The origin of it was that until college, she never saw physical therapists that could help her, so she learned how to massage and exercise her legs to keep them fresh on her own. Then, once she had college and later professional trainers, she took good notes so that she could help her teammates (or, more accurately, her more-than-friend at the time who also happened to be her teammate) out. She takes her time, massaging Carina’s calves, finding the knots and slowly pressing her fingers into them. Carina squeals in pain and Maya tries to stroke her back gently to comfort her. 

“Is this supposed to hurt this much?” Carina asks. 

“Yes, but I promise it’ll feel better after,” Maya replies. Once Maya manages to work some of the knots out of her calves, she moves up to her thighs, gently massaging up her body, up her back and to her shoulders. “You feeling better?” Maya asks, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. 

“That was seriously painful,” Carina huffs. “Here I was, expecting some sexy massage, and instead, I get your fingers practically unraveling the muscles in my legs.” 

Maya laughs, but rolls Carina over to face her and gives her a soft kiss. Carina adjusts so that she is the big spoon, and starts to rub her hands on her girlfriend’s stomach, feeling her muscles under her soft skin. She kisses Maya’s neck from behind softly, before trailing her lips down to her shoulder.

“So beautiful,” Carina whispers. After a few minutes of holding her and kissing her gently, Carina rolls Maya onto her stomach and presses little kisses across her shoulders and shoulder blades before kissing down her spine. Maya just enjoys the intimate attention, Carina kissing the little groove where her spinal cord lays. Once she gets to the bottom, Carina licks her way back up. She then starts getting a little more passionate, sucking and nibbling on the back of Maya’s neck. Carina moves to roll Maya over again, this time onto her back, and then cups her cheek and gives her a soft kiss.

“I love you, Maya,” Carina reminds her, letting their noses brush, before pressing a feather light kiss to her lips. “Today was the kind of day that reminds me how lucky I am.” 

“Me too,” Maya replies. “Baciami,” she adds, trying out her Italian. Carina raises an eyebrow, impressed, and gives her what she asked for—another kiss. Maya deepens it, tugging Carina’s body closer and sliding her tongue in her mouth. They kiss for a few minutes, the kiss igniting the flames within their bodies. Carina’s legs hug Maya’s hips and her bare center starts to grind on her stomach, small, slow movements. Their chests press together, Carina’s nipples hardening against the undersides of Maya’s breasts. Maya’s hands roam Carina’s bare back, her fingers tracing her spine and then gently scratching down her back with her short nails. Maya’s tongue sucks on Carina’s and she presses their lips together over and over and over. Carina holds Maya’s face and twirls her hair while they kiss, and Maya moans when Carina sucks on her bottom lip for a minute before biting it gently.

“My girl,” Carina mumbles against her lips. Both pairs of lips are bright red and swollen from the hot makeout session. Carina drags her body against Maya’s for a moment, angling it so that her rock hard nipples will drag against Maya’s. They both moan at the feeling and Maya’s hands slide to Carina’s hips, helping her grind on her. Carina is getting wet, and Maya can feel it dripping on her stomach.

“I want to fuck you with the strap on,” Maya proposes with a smirk. “I can fuck you on your stomach, on your back, your side...you could ride me. Whatever you want.”

Carina can’t help that her eyes light up at the idea. She really likes it when Maya fucks her. Carina kisses her and then trails her mouth over to her ear. After yesterday’s vibrator scene, Carina isn’t exactly surprised to hear that Maya apparently brought a whole collection of sex toys with her on the trip. 

“You can take me however you want me, bambina. But first, I’m going to eat your pussy,” Carina promises. Maya lets a little whine slip from her lips, and Carina smirks. Carina kisses down Maya’s neck, stopping to suck and bite at each of her sensitive spots. Carina knows Maya’s body better than she knows her own, always knowing exactly what her girlfriend needs. Carina licks between her breasts and then licks the undersides before starting to kiss all over them. She’ll never get over how perfect they are—big and round and perky but not so perky that they look fake and, of course, her hard, pink nipples. Carina kisses all over both of her breasts before taking a nipple into her mouth. Maya holds back a moan as she arches her back to feed her breasts to Carina, biting her lip to try to control her response to having her nipple sucked. Each lick and suction around her hard nipple makes her feel more and more wet. Carina continues sucking for another minute before finally pulling back, blowing on the sensitive bud, and licking the other. Carina spreads Maya’s legs and brings one hand between them, starting to rub her palm on her wet pussy while she sucks on her left nipple. Maya lets out a moan and Carina smirks at her. Maya’s hand plays with her hair and then presses on her head while she arches her back. Carina rolls her tongue all over her nipple and then very gently grazes it with her teeth. Maya manages to swallow her moan, so Carina takes it one step further, gently biting her sensitive nipple. Maya moans and her hips buck up against her hand, and Carina soothes her nipple and blows on it while feeling the gush of Maya’s arousal coat her hand. She finally moves down Maya’s body, kissing, nipping, and sucking all over her stomach and hips. She can taste herself on Maya’s stomach where she was grinding on her, and it makes her moan softly against the sensitive skin. Carina then kisses down the tops of her thighs before moving her hand off her center, and sucking each of her fingers clean. Carina kisses the inside of her thighs, reveling in the strong muscles, before hooking her arms around Maya’s hips and finally tasting her treat.

Eating Maya’s wet pussy is one of her favorite things to do. She’s been infatuated by it since they first met at the bar. That night, they’d made out, Maya had topped her, fingering her and then going down on her, and finally, Carina had then rolled Maya onto her back and gotten her head between her legs. And since then, she was addicted.  
Maya rubs Carina’s hair and tries to watch her girl with her mouth full of pussy.

“Ohhhhh, Carina,” Maya moans, her head falling back. Carina licks her all over, and then starts sucking on her lips. Maya squirms a little on the bed when Carina then sucks on her labia gently, her mouth falling open but no sound coming out. It’s no surprise that Carina knows a lot about women’s pleasure—she is a woman, she likes to have sex with women, and she studies women’s pleasure. But it still always blows Maya’s mind how attentive Carina is to her body in particular. Carina’s own center pulses and throbs almost painfully as she eats out. She tries to rub her legs together, but it doesn’t help. Maya’s free hand finds her own breasts, starting to gently tug her nipples. They’re still wet from Carina’s mouth and rock hard with her arousal. Carina starts to fuck Maya with her tongue—thrusting nice and slow but deep, letting Maya hold her head and try to bounce on her tongue. Maya loves how thick the base of her tongue is and how long it is. Carina certainly knows how to use it. Carina loves this position because she gets to taste all of Maya’s arousal as it soaks her tongue and drips into her mouth, her wet chin rubbing the sensitive area right behind her opening and her nose pressing on her labia. By the time Carina slides her tongue out, her whole face is wet.

“Fuck, Carina,” Maya moans, her hips bucking desperately as she slowly alternates which of her nipples she’s tugging. Carina licks through her labia for a few minutes before finally spreading her a little more and starting to lick her clit. Maya lets out a high pitched moan and, without thinking, her hand drops from her breasts to Carina’s shoulder.

“Put my fingers,” Maya requests. “In me,” she mumbles. Carina raises an eyebrow but helps her move. She sucks on Maya’s fingers to get them wet and then moves so that Maya can slide them inside herself, Carina gripping Maya’s wrist, setting the pace. The little bit of pressure inside her feels so good, and they both get off on Carina controlling how Maya fingers herself. Carina goes back to work licking her clit, long and fast.

“Ohhh oh oh oh oh,” Maya moans, Carina desperately trying to keep her bucking hips still. Maya can’t help her hips jumping everywhere, the feeling of her fingers inside her and Carina’s tongue on her clit is too much for her to handle. Carina glances up at her girlfriend, moaning and writhing on the bed, her breasts bouncing on her chest, her eyes shut and head tilted back on the pillow.

“Oh, CAR,” Maya moans, even louder, unable to help herself. She tries to open her eyes but seeing Carina’s head between her legs is too much. Her feet start kicking eagerly and her stomach feels like it’s going to explode. She works to hit her g spot with her fingers and Carina starts thrusting them into her faster. Carina’s mouth moves on her clit so fast that Maya can’t comprehend it. Her thighs and abs quiver and she squirms. The fire building in the pit of her stomach starts to consume her. It becomes harder to thrust her fingers and then finally, she’s moaning, arching her body, and then, it hits her.

Maya cums hard, her legs flying shut around Carina’s head, squeezing roughly. Her pussy pulses and gushes a little more of her arousal on Carina’s face and mouth and both of their hands. Maya lets out a truly dirty, strangled moan as her body jerks with her spasms of pleasure. The moan goes directly between Carina’s legs, arousal dripping between her legs and making her thighs stick together. Carina helps move Maya’s hand to keep her fingering herself through it while she licks her pussy eagerly. Finally, after Maya relaxes and pulls out her own fingers, Carina lets her calm down, taking her mouth off her pussy and putting Maya’s fingers and her own in her mouth instead. She cleans her own off and then sucks on Maya’s, before teasing the fingers with her teeth and nibbling on them a little. And then kisses all over Maya’s stomach before joining her for cuddles. Maya rests her head on her shoulder, and before she realizes what’s happening, Maya’s breath evens out.

“Maya?” Carina whispers. She’s soaking wet and desperate, and now, suddenly, she’s pinned below her sleeping girlfriend on the bed. It’s late, they’ve had a long, very active day, and Carina can hardly blame her girlfriend for falling asleep on her. She knows that, if Maya’s massage had not been so painful, she probably would’ve fallen asleep to the feeling of her girlfriend’s hands on her body earlier. Carina manages to shift Maya off of her and goes to the bathroom to wash up. She sets an alarm for the morning before getting back into bed, spooning her sleeping girlfriend from behind once more. Maya’s snoring a little—quiet enough to be cute—and Carina takes a moment to be grateful and happy. The most beautiful, loving, badass woman she’s ever met is sleeping in her arms. 

They have ten full days of vacation together, and Carina knows Maya will more than repay her for the favor tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank y'all for reading another chapter!! this one was longer than intended, and poor carina was left high and (not very) dry, but i promise, maya will more than make up for it soon enough :) please let me know what you think in the comments!


	3. day 3: redwoods, pt. 1

Maya wakes up at 5am, her body’s typical natural waking time. She’s disoriented and confused—in part because she’s in a cabin she’s never been in before, but mostly because of the way she fell asleep. It’s not until she stumbles to the bathroom that she realizes that her legs and vagina have her dried fluids on them, and she remembers that she fell asleep on Carina after sex. 

“Gross,” Maya huffs, cleaning herself off. After she’s satisfied that she’s clean, she brushes her teeth, and takes a moment to feel bad that she left her girlfriend hanging, Maya decides that her morning run can wait a bit longer, and crawls back in bed with Carina. She slowly starts to press little kisses to Carina’s neck and down her back, since she’s laying on her stomach. Maya massages her ass and then sits on it for a moment while she starts sucking and nipping at her neck.

“Oooh,” Carina mumbles. Her eyes flutter open to the feeling of Maya sitting on her hips sucking on the sensitive spots on her neck. “Bella,” she adds, sleep heavy in her voice.

“Good morning, Bella,” Maya replies, sucking on her earlobe and then licking the shell of her ear. Carina shivers with pleasure. Maya bites her shoulder and Carina chuckles, loving when Maya gets all kinds of bitey. After a minute, Maya kisses down her back again, kissing each little notch on her spinal cord. Once she finally spreads Carina’s legs for her, she leans in and starts licking her gently. Carina moans and then lets out a happy sigh. Maya is always the one who wants to get up and get moving in the mornings—but Carina loves to lay around, sleep in, and fool around. 

Maya gives Carina exactly what she wants, with long licks up from her clit to her opening, dipping her tongue inside, and then doing it again. She uses one hand to hold Carina’s lips open to give her more room to work, and Carina grabs a hold of both of her thighs so she can keep her legs spread for Maya, her knees bent. Maya’s free hand finds its way into herself, just short, little thrusts to keep her going. Carina moans into her pillow and mumbles to herself in Italian. Maya licks her over and over and over, loving that every time she dips her tongue inside, Carina is more wet. Maya slides her fingers out of herself after a few minutes, instead adjusting so she can slide them into Carina. Carina moans loudly at the feeling of being penetrated by Maya’s wet, warm fingers, and then Maya smirks as she licks and fingers her at the same time. Carina almost loses her grip on her thighs when her hips start bucking on their own accord. She holds her legs open as best she can and Maya builds a fast pace with her fingers, rubbing her g spot with each thrust.

“Maya, maya, MAYA,” Carina mumbles. Her girlfriend licks her clit fast with long licks, and Carina can only moan in response. Maya’s hand that was holding her lips open instead moves to hold her hips down while she tries to keep the angle and pace on her clit while fingering her. It’s only a matter of time until Carina is unashamedly moaning into her pillow and her stomach is tightening. She loses the grip on her legs and they close around Maya’s head right as she finally cums. The pleasure spreads through her body and Carina moans through it, her face dragging on the pillow, Maya eagerly licking her but stilling her fingers as Carina’s walls tighten hard around them.

“Good girl,” Maya mumbles, finally picking up her head. She licks her lips and then sucks her fingers clean, tasting both herself and Carina on her fingers. Maya rolls Carina onto her back and kisses all over her stomach lovingly. 

“I have to go on my run soon,” Maya mumbles. But instead of getting up, she climbs up Carina’s body and lines them up so she can rub her pussy on Carina’s mound. She leans down to suck on Carina’s swollen, hard nipples and play with her breasts as she slowly rolls her hips against her girlfriend. Carina tries to recover from her orgasm, but she’s already feeling worked up by Maya grinding her wet pussy on her. 

“How long do you have?” Carina asks. Maya looks at her FitBit.

“Ten minutes.”

Carina smirks and Maya laughs, because usually naughty things result when Carina has that look. Carina moves them into scissoring position, and Maya laughs.

“This is not going to get you off,” Maya complains.

“Shut up, it’s going to get you off,” Carina replies, with a sassy roll of her eye. Carina isn’t wrong—scissoring usually does get Maya off, and she’s already really worked up. But this wasn’t supposed to be about her. It was supposed to be about Maya thanking Carina for the sex she fell asleep before she could thank her for last night. 

“Maya, please just rub your pussy on mine for the next 10 minutes? I will get myself off if I need to while you’re running. I. Want. To. Feel. This,” Carina demands, sensing why Maya is hesitating. Maya smiles and agrees, adjusting them a little more and then starting to move. It took them lots of practice to get to a point where this actually feels good for both of them, but now, they really do like it. Their pussies are both soaking wet and they make a squishing sound each time they rub together. They both start breathing heavily quickly, trying to keep the pace fast and the thrusts the right amount of friction yet still controlled. Carina’s head falls back and she moans Maya’s name. Even though she’s never cum from this, it’s undeniably that she loves the way it feels. Maya’s pussy throbs from her arousal, each thrust relieving a tiny bit of pressure.

About seven minutes in, a sheen of sweat covering both of them, Maya lets out a dirty moan.

“Good, bambina, feels good,” Carina mumbles, trying to talk to her, knowing it’ll help her get off. 

“I’m gonna cum,” Maya replies, her eyes lighting up and her clit rubbing perfectly on Carina’s folds. Maya tries to move faster, and Carina holds them both in place as best she can. She’s also close, but her focus is on making sure Maya gets there. Maya feels the pleasure pooling in the pit of her stomach and lets out a moan when Carina finds a way to move a hand to tug one of her nipples. Carina will never get over the sight of Maya’s boobs bouncing around during sex, and she knows how much Maya likes getting her nipples played with. 

Maya loses her concentration, Carina desperately holding onto Maya to keep her thrusting at the right angle. A moment later, Maya’s head drops to Carina’s shoulder and she bites down on her skin hard as she cums. Carina feels Maya’s pussy pulsing and more wetness coating her own folds and she holds onto Maya as her girlfriends hips jerk a bit and she shakes in her arms for a moment before relaxing. The endorphins rush through Maya’s body and she smiles against her girlfriend’s skin, seeing bite marks appear where she got a little too excited. 

Maya really has to get up and get ready for her run, but after adjusting herself off Carina, she leans down to help treat her girlfriend. She starts rubbing her wet clit fast and sucking her nipples. Carina sees stars. She was so close before Maya came, and now she’s actually going to get there. Her hand flies to Maya’s short, dark hair, tugging and moaning as Maya’s fingers on her clit drive her up the wall with pleasure.

“I’m, gonna,” Carina mumbles. “I’m gonna cum.”

Maya just smirks and bites down on her nipple, which throws Carina over the edge. She closes her eyes and her back flies up and pleasure spreads through her body. Maya licks her breasts and rubs her clit until carina starts to come down and pushes her fingers away.

“You good?” Maya asks.

“Yeah, you go run,” Carina promises. Maya presses a little kiss on Carina’s shoulder and tries to soothe over the spot where she bit her while she came by licking it. 

“See you soon, beautiful,” Maya says, getting up and going to wash up quickly in the bathroom. She tosses on shorts, a sports bra, and a tank, and quickly does some of her warm up exercises before heading out for a shorter-than-anticipated run.

Carina is still laying in bed when Maya returns. Maya laughs and jumps in the shower for a very quick rinse-off. They’re in a rush to make their 8am bike tour reservation, so that they can get on the road early. Maya knows a real shower after biking and before driving will be necessary anyway, so she’s only under the spray for a couple of minutes, just doing a quick wash-off because her body is...gross. 

The morning is a bit chaotic. They both instantly regret planning on biking first thing in the morning before a 5 hour drive, because they both feel rushed. But as soon as they get on the bikes and start on the bike path, it’s so serene and beautiful that they’re glad they made the time. 

Until Maya hits a tree root going a little bit too fast and, before either of them know what’s happening, she’s on the ground on top of some rocks, her bike collapsing on top of her. Carina stops and quickly rushes over to help her get the bike off her. Carina kneels down next to her and sees blood running down her leg from right under her knee. 

“Oh, bella,” Carina starts, concerned. 

“It’s fine, it’s just a little blood,” Maya assures her. She’s more mad that she’s ruining the bike tour because she’s bleeding than anything else. 

“Uh, this cut is pretty deep, Maya,” Carina pipes in. Carina decides to sacrifice her old tee shirt, pulling it over her head and wrapping it around Maya’s calf, securing it as best as she can. Maya would question whether that is really necessary, but when Carina is sitting in front of her in just her sports bra, Maya can’t really formulate sentences. 

Carina then helps Maya up and doesn’t even try to stop Maya from getting back on the bike. Instead, she just makes sure that her shirt is secured around her leg and putting enough pressure on it so that the bleeding will stop. Carina does, however, demand they take it a bit slower the rest of the way. They stop at one point to take some photos of the scenery, and Carina can see the blood seeping through the fabric of the shirt. 

“We have to get you back, Maya,” Carina insists, not messing around. She needs to get Maya into the shower to wash off that cut so she can make sure it doesn’t need stitches before it gets infected. Maya doesn’t fight Carina, knowing that her doctor-girlfriend is being as lenient with her as she can. 

Maya limps into the cabin and into the bathroom. Carina sits Maya down in the shower and gets both of them naked before unwrapping her leg. Both of her legs are dirty and Carina can see where she’s going to be bruised. The cut has stopped bleeding, much to Carina’s satisfaction, and Carina is confident it won’t need stitches. 

Maya screams when she turns the water on unexpectedly, the water on the cut burning and catching her off guard. “Carina, fuck, a little bit of notice,” Maya grumbles. Carina apologizes and helps her up into a standing position. 

“Are you sure you’re okay otherwise?” Carina asks. Maya insists she’s okay, and Carina tries to believe her.

After the least fun joint shower of their relationship, Maya gets herself ready and packs up their bags while Carina drops off the keys. The cut doesn’t sting much anymore, but she can tell her body is going to be hurting tomorrow. 

Carina insists on driving, because she’s worried about Maya’s leg. Maya insists that she’s perfectly capable of driving, but knows that being stubborn about this is only going to cause conflict. They decide Carina will take today’s drive while Maya’s leg heals and Maya will take tomorrow’s. After a mandatory drive thru for some coffee, they stop at the first drug store they see so that Carina can buy some bandages and antibiotic ointment for Maya’s cut. Maya buys some prepared “fresh” wraps after scrutinizing the ingredients, along with some more Maya-approved healthy snacks to replenish their stash. Carina takes care of Maya’s leg, holding it in her lap over the center console. 

“You have to admit, you babying the little cut on my leg is pretty cute,” Maya starts. Carina raises an eyebrow. 

“Babying? Little cut? I just had to throw out my shirt because it was soaked in blood,” Carina replies, a bit unamused. Maya bites her lip and smiles a little, and then shrugs. “Please, let me take care of you, bella. I’m a doctor.” 

“I am letting you take care of me,” Maya insists. “I basically let you shower me.” 

Carina chuckles. “Okay, I was naked hovering over you, you don’t get a gold star for letting me shower you.” 

This gets a laugh from Maya, and Carina places the bandage across her cut before leaning down and kissing the outside of it. “Makes it all better,” Carina tells her. “Scientifically proven.” 

Maya smiles, taking her leg back before leaning in for a soft kiss. “I’m a little embarrassed,” she admits. Carina gives her a skeptical look. “Okay, I’m a lot embarrassed.” 

Carina smiles and gives her another kiss. “I know, but you have nothing to be embarrassed about,” Carina reminds her. “Everyone eats rocks sometimes. You saw me almost...swipe out riding on pavement the other day, multiple times.” 

“I know,” Maya replies, a little smile on her face from Carina’s slightly-off word choice. During her time as a cross country athlete in college, she’d taken a few more spills while running through uneven terrain in practice than she’d like to admit. But, between her and Carina, she’s the athletic one. Yet, she was the one who couldn’t make it through a scenic bike tour without wiping out. 

The drive to their next destination—the Redwood forests—is a long one. And they are a bit behind schedule because of all of the fanfare surrounding Maya’s fall. They get chatting about mindless things—filling each other in on the drama at their respective workplaces, including Maya going on a whole ramble about Andy. Carina learned early on in this relationship that Maya always has a ramble about Andy. 

“Maya, I want a dog,” Carina says, out of nowhere. 

“You want...a dog?” Maya questions. “Like, a little fluffy thing or a real dog?” 

Carina rolls her eyes. “I don’t know, like a mid size dog. I’ve wanted one since I moved to Seattle. But then I met you, and my itch for companionship was kind of, being scratched. But now I look at you and I think about how much I want to see you with a dog.” 

Maya’s surprised and not sure what to think. On one hand, Carina just compared their relationship to that of one an owner would have with a dog. On the other hand, it is kind of cute that Carina thinks about their future. “Do you want us to get a dog, like, together? Like, parenting?” 

Carina laughs. “It’s a dog, not a child, Maya. It could be my dog, that you just play with.” 

Maya considers that possibility. In this scenario, Maya would have absolutely no responsibility over the dog—technically. Somehow, she feels like what would end up happening is, they’d move in together, and then Maya would become a dog co-parent on a dog she did not get to help pick out. “Could I help pick out the dog? I want a dog that will go on runs with me.” 

Carina rolls her eyes again. “I don’t know, do you actually want a dog?” 

“I don’t know,” Maya replies. She’s always thought it was weird and almost creepy the way humans fawn over fully grown animals and treat them like they’re newborns. But, at the same time, seeing Carina fawning over a fully grown animal and treating it like it’s a newborn sounds cute. 

“I’m not trying to like, skip steps in our relationship,” Carina assures her. “I’m not trying to make you a co-parent before we even live together.” 

“That kinda sounds like exactly what you’re doing, though,” Maya points out. “I’m not mad about it, but like, if you get a dog tomorrow, ideally we’ll want to move in together at some point in the next, I don’t know, year, and then I’ll be a dog co-parent. If I’m going to be a dog co-parent in a few months anyway, why not just get a dog together?” 

“There’s kind of a big difference between a few months and a year, bella,” Carina notes. 

“I don’t know, when do you think we’ll want to move in together?” Maya asks. She feels like this conversation is getting into dangerous territory, and doesn’t quite know how she got herself here. 

“This is not the conversation I meant for us to be having,” Carina admits. Maya nods, a bit disappointed with that reply. She knows that they are really just at the beginning of mending their relationship, and they have a long way to go before cohabitation is a smart idea. But also, spending these last few days with Carina has felt so natural. Maya could see herself living with Carina, not in a year, but tomorrow. She could see herself letting Carina fill the bookshelves that are meant to be negative space. She could see Carina cooking in her kitchen every day, not as a guest, but as someone who also lives there. She could see Carina’s sheets on her bed and she could imagine waking up every day wrapped up in Carina’s arms. 

She feels like she wants Carina more than Carina wants her, and that’s terrifying. 

“Are you okay, Maya?” Carina asks. She can tell Maya is getting in her own head. Maya nods unconvincingly. “I love you, Maya. I want it all with you. I just don’t want to put deadlines on it. We’ll move in together when the time is right, and we’ll know when the time is right.” 

They drop the conversation there. There’s so much Maya wants to say, but she can’t bring herself to. So she lets herself take a break and tells herself she’ll work through her thoughts and then bring it up with Carina again once she’s figured out what she wants to say. This is something her therapist taught her—it’s better that she work through her emotions before she tries to explain them to Carina, instead of getting herself into a conversation she’s not emotionally ready for and then ending up lashing out when it gets scary. 

Soon enough, Maya’s snapped out of her own mind by the incredible sight that surrounds them as they approach the national forests. They plug in the driving tour route, planning to just drive through the forests for a few hours and then set up camp before they lose daylight. They’re both shocked into silence by how stunning the trees are surrounding them. 

“I never thought I’d see trees like this,” Carina mumbles. “I didn’t know anything like this existed.” 

“I can’t believe I’ve never been here,” Maya adds. She has spent her whole life on the west coast—her upbringing in Seattle, college and professional running in Oregon, and then back to Seattle. But she’s somehow never been to California for vacations, only for meets. She’s certainly never been to the Redwoods. Carina puts a hand over hers and laces their fingers together. 

“I am so happy I’m here with you, bella. Nowhere else I’d rather be.” 

Maya wants to say it back, but the words get stuck in her throat. She nods instead. Carina knows something is still off, but doesn’t want to ruin the incredible moment by confronting Maya about it. 

The rest of the driving route is peaceful. They take lots of pictures and take in the incredible scenery. The trees are taller than they ever imagined. The rich red, green, and brown colors of the forest capture their attention, just the road parting them. They hold hands, and the grip of Carina’s fingers reminds her that this is real. The driving tour is over far too soon, and they find themselves dragging all of their camping gear from the parking area to their campground. 

“You know how to set this all up, right?” Carina clarifies. Maya laughs, knowing this is her moment to shine. They manage to set up their tent with only one near-disaster, and they consider it a huge win that they’re all set up before the sun tucks behind the trees. They set up a fire and Carina brings out a bag of marshmallows. 

“Where did you get those?” Maya asks, knowing marshmallows are definitely not on her list of approved snacks.

“I know that roasting marshmallows is a...thing in America and I wanted to try,” Carina replies, an innocent smile on her face. Maya can’t be mad about that, and she counts herself lucky that Carina only thought to bring marshmallows, and not the makings for s’mores. “I was going to bring graham crackers and chocolate too, but I figured the chocolate would melt.”

They eat whatever snacks they find in Maya’s stash—the wraps had been devoured in the car earlier. And then, once it’s dark and they’re done with “dinner,” they grab the bag of marshmallows and sit by the fire. Carina sits in front of Maya in between her legs, Maya wrapping her arms around her girlfriend and pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. Carina pierces her stick with her marshmallow and holds it over the fire. Maya just holds Carina. 

“You know, my intention was for us to roast marshmallows together,” Carina notes. Maya smiles and kisses her again.

“I’ll roast one soon, promise. Just want to hold you and watch you roast your first marshmallow.” 

Carina gives her the softest expression and Maya tells her when to take her marshmallow out of the fire, when it’s just charred enough to be perfect. She watches intently as Carina takes a bite. “Huh,” Carina mumbles. “This is so weird.” 

Maya smiles in amusement and takes a bite of Carina’s marshmallow. Carina decides she thinks it’s kind of good, but in a weird way. “Yeah, I had a feeling the Italian wasn’t going to think of marshmallows as a fine dessert.” 

Maya moves to grab a stick and a marshmallow of her own. They roast and eat marshmallows in silence for a few minutes. Until Carina’s marshmallow catches on fire, and Maya takes over. 

After Maya’s brief fire heroics (Carina’s words), they lay down in the grass to watch the stars (again, Carina’s idea). Maya instinctively cuddles up to Carina, resting her head on her shoulder. 

“Talk to me, Maya,” Carina requests, her hand finding Maya’s short hair, twirling the locks mindlessly. Maya takes a deep breath. 

“I want it all with you and I’m scared,” Maya says. She’s been rehearsing what she was going to say for the last couple of hours, but expressing her emotions is still hard for her. 

“I’m scared, too,” Carina admits. She interlaces her fingers of her free hand with Maya’s, and they rest their hands on Carina’s hip. 

“I want to live with you, and for us to have a dog. I want to go on runs with the dog in the morning and to come home from shift and sleep all day with the dog curled up next to me. I want to see you play fetch with the dog in the dog park and I want to share a bed with you every night,” Maya rambles, staring up at the stars. It’s always been easier for her to be honest and vulnerable in the darkness, and the way the stars appear infinite makes her feel like she’s floating. “I want to feel the bed dip next to me when you get home and wrap me in your arms.” 

Carina closes her eyes. “I can’t lose you. I am scared I will overstep, or mess it up. And that I will push you away. That you will not...want to be with me, anymore.” 

“I feel like I need you more than you need me,” Maya admits. Carina laughs against her hair, leaning down to kiss her head. 

“You have a family in that firehouse,” Carina reminds her. What Carina doesn’t say is that she doesn’t have a family at Grey-Sloan. It’s implied. Maya squeezes her hand. They stargaze in silence for a minute, neither quite sure what to say. 

“Why is love so scary?” Maya asks. 

“Because our bodies were wired for abuse, and we are both saddled with the duty to break the cycle, but neither of us know what we are doing,” Carina replies. “We just have a lot of love to give and a lot of fear that we won’t do it right.” 

It’s silent between them after that. Maya, who has been in an uncomfortable position through the conversation, lays down next to Carina and helps position Carina so that she’s laying horizontally with her head on Maya’s stomach. Maya holds her hand again and Carina pushes up Maya’s shirt so she can place a kiss on her bare skin and feel her muscles under her head. 

Maya is angry at her father. She’s angry not just that he abused her, but that his legacy gets to live on in her life as an outside member of this relationship. She’s angry and ashamed it still affects her, that she is a fully grown adult who still has to figure out how to break away from the synapses he snapped together in her brain incorrectly. 

She’s also angry at Carina’s father for doing the same to her, and ashamed of herself for being so far behind Carina in her processing and healing. She knows Carina would tell her to stop with all of the shame, that it’s not her fault, that all shame will do is swallow her up and destroy her. That he’s the only one who should be ashamed. She still can't help but feel it. 

In her anger, and her misplaced shame, Maya reminds herself of the view of floating down the river with Carina, holding her hand, laughing. She takes in the view of the stars above her, the total darkness around her, the tall trees, the sounds of nature. She feels the tickle of her girlfriend’s long hair on her bare stomach and feels Carina squeeze her hand. 

She’s grateful she’s alive to be angry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for reading! this was certainly a bit heavier and less fun road trip vibes than i was planning, but it just kind of stuck. i promise more fluff in the next chapter :) 
> 
> also, if y'all are interested, i highly suggest watching a video on the redwoods on youtube. i've only heard and seen photos and videos about them, but i found some truly beautiful vlogs of people driving through the redwoods while researching for this chapter and...wow.


	4. day 4: redwoods, pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back! if you follow stefania on instagram, pay attention for a fun easter egg in this chapter, and let me know if you catch it in the comments!

Carina quickly decides she hates camping. She’s hot and sweaty and the air is humid. Maya is dead asleep next to her, laying on her stomach, wearing just her sports bra and boyshorts. Carina rolls further from the mini heater that is Maya’s body, and pushes the thin blanket entirely off her own body. She sighs as she struggles to get comfortable and hear bugs outside their small tent. She leans over to check her phone, and groans when she realizes it is 3:45am. 

“Car,” Maya mumbles, reaching her arm out. Carina turns back towards Maya and takes her hand. 

“Right here, baby,” Carina mumbles, and leans down to kiss her hand. Maya tugs her closer by her hand. 

“Why are you over there?” Maya asks, picking her head up and looking for her girlfriend. Her hair is messy sticking all around her head, and her face sleepy and a little red. 

“Just hot,” Carina responds, trying not to make Maya feel bad. 

“I miss you,” Maya insists, rolling over so she is closer to Carina again. “Let me hold you.” 

Maya falls asleep again, her arms wrapped around Carina, Carina’s head on her chest. Carina tries to forget how hot and sweaty she is. Tries to ignore the sound of the bugs outside and the fact that she has to pee, but not badly enough to confront that in the middle of the night. She feels exposed, in the middle of the woods in her little tent. Her heart beats a little faster than it should and she just wants it to stop. 

Eventually, Carina falls asleep. But it feels like mere minutes later that she’s waking up to the sunlight glaring into her tent, right into her face. She’s disoriented, blinking a few times. Her back is sore and she feels slightly sticky from the sweat and the humidity. Her hair is sticking to the back of her neck and her eyes start tearing at the sun. She turns around, grabbing the blanket to hold and shoving her face against it. Maya is sitting cross-legged next to her in the tent, scrolling on her phone. She smiles and puts it down when she sees Carina. 

“Morning sleepyhead,” Maya says with a coy smile, leaning down to kiss Carina’s forehead. 

“What time is it?” Carina asks grumpily.

“6:50,” Maya replies, putting her finger under Carina’s chin and lifting her for a quick peck on the lips. “Did you sleep okay?” 

“Not really,” Carina admits. “How’s your knee?” She asks, seeing the bruising around it and appreciating the fact that she can tell Maya put a new band aid over the cut itself. 

“Good as new,” Maya insists. 

It takes Maya about fifteen minutes to convince Carina to get out of bed, and then another forty-five or so minutes for them to get themselves ready, pack up, and take the tent down. They drive over to the start of the hiking trail, and Maya feels a pang of guilt when she sees Carina yawn. 

“You can sleep the whole drive later,” Maya promises. 

“Oh, I’m fine, don’t worry,” Carina insists. She’s exhausted, but she doesn’t want to take away from Maya’s fun. Maya pouts and Carina walks up to her and wraps her arms around her, sliding both her hands into the pockets of her jean shorts to squeeze her ass playfully. “Let’s get hiking, I’m excited,” Carina promises. Maya laughs at Carina’s antics and makes her promise she’ll tell her if she’s getting overheated. She packs an extra water bottle just in case they need it, over Carina’s repeated pouting. 

The hike towards the beach is quiet. They both take a bunch of photos and Maya insists on frequent water breaks to make sure Carina is doing okay, and they share small talk about the weather and the beautiful sights. Carina also takes in the sight that is Maya walking in front of her, her muscular legs on display and tight jean shorts covering her ass. 

“You know, I can feel you staring at my ass,” Maya says, turning towards her with a smirk on her face. Carina smiles and bites her bottom lip playfully. 

“It’s not my fault it’s such a great ass,” Carina teases, walking closer to her and squeezing it again gently. Maya tugs her in for a kiss and then rests their foreheads together. 

“You hanging in there?” Maya asks, trying to hide her concern. Carina assures her that she is more than fine. 

Carina gasps audibly when they finally arrive at their destination: the black sands beach. It’s even more beautiful than she’d imagined from looking at photos, and suddenly, the sleepless night and exhaustion is more than worth it. They walk along the water for a few minutes before sitting down on a towel to take in the view and rest. The sand looks like charcoal, and the water is as blue as she’s ever seen. It feels like they’ve walked into another reality. 

“Wow,” Carina finally says, taking Maya’s hand in her own. Maya looks up at her with adoration in her eyes, and it catches Carina almost by surprise. 

“When we get married, let’s get married on the beach,” Maya proposes. Carina has never once heard Maya talk about marriage, so it again catches her off guard. 

“You think you want to get married someday?” Carina asks, a bit of excitement in her voice. 

“Yeah,” Maya replies, nodding. 

“Miss, what did you used to say? Monogamy is for the weak?” Carina teases. Maya rolls her eyes, mentally cursing out Andy for telling Carina about that. 

“Or the very, very dedicated,” Maya reminds her. “I’m the very dedicated.” 

Carina leans in to kiss her, and lets their noses brush for a moment. 

“I can’t wait,” Carina replies, with another soft kiss.

“But you’re not allowed to propose, just so you know. I’m going to propose,” Maya insists. Carina laughs, and shakes her head. 

“We would totally be one of those couples who propose at the same time,” Carina points out. 

“No because you’re not allowed to propose to me,” Maya insists. Carina rolls her eyes playfully.

“You know I wouldn’t propose if I didn’t know you were ready to get married,” Carina clarifies. 

“But if you propose I’m going to cry like a baby in the engagement photos and look like a total mess. I want our engagement photos to be you looking like a surprised mess and me looking like a happy fiance,” Maya explains. Carina laces their fingers together.

“Someone has done a lot of thinking about marriage,” Carina points out. Maya shrugs. 

“Hard not to when you’re this confident about someone,” Maya replies. Carina kisses the top of her head. They sit together for a little while, before taking some photos with their backs to the ocean. They then insist on taking photos of each other, even as their phones are dying. Carina scrolls through the photos on her phone for a minute, and when she looks up, she’s surprised to see Maya holding a stick writing something in the sand: Maya + Carina. 

“I know this is the kind of thing that makes us look like we are middle schoolers who just told each other we have crushes,” Maya explains, looking up at Carina. “But I don’t know, I’ve never liked my name as much as when it is next to yours.” 

“Even when it is next to ‘Olympic gold medalist?’” Carina questions. Maya laughs, whole heartedly. 

“The gold medal is an accomplishment that I’m proud to be tied to. You’re a person who makes me a better me,” Maya explains. “Maybe that made more sense when I was thinking about it this morning than it does out loud.” 

Carina laughs and pulls Maya in for a hug. Maya lifts Carina up and helps her wrap her legs around her waist. 

“I love you,” Carina tells her, kissing her gently. “Even though you wake up early in the mornings.” 

“Even though I made you sleep in a tent?” Maya questions, helping Carina down and then gathering their stuff. They both know they’re going to have to head back so that they can get driving to their next destination. 

“Even though you made me sleep in a tent,” Carina clarifies. “You’re gonna let me nap on the drive and then buy me coffee and food, right?” 

“Of course,” Maya promises. “Five full hours of sleep coming your way.” 

Maya gives her one last kiss and takes a photo of her stick drawing before grabbing her bag and Carina’s hand. They manage to make it back to the car about an hour later, with only a few stops for Maya to pour water on Carina’s head, much to Carina’s chagrin. Maya also makes them both stretch out their legs, knowing that putting their sore legs directly into a car for five hours is a bad idea. They stop as soon as they get out of the park for a real bathroom, coffee, and a lot of food. And as soon as Carina has fueled up, she falls asleep in the passenger’s seat, her face pressed to the window. Maya puts some music on low and sneaks glances at her adorable sleeping girlfriend. 

Maya takes the time to reflect on her emotional whirlwind over the past day or so. She can’t believe she told Carina she wants to marry her someday. She takes deep breaths as she tries to mentally sort out her feelings, her therapist’s voice playing in her head, talking her through it. This vacation has been magical in so many ways, but it is also surfacing a lot of emotion for her. It’s making her realize just how deep her feelings for Carina run, just how much she wants to share every day with Carina, and just how scared she is of giving herself over fully. In some ways, she’s afraid of something that has already happened—Carina has her heart. In other ways, she’s afraid of defining herself around another person, and then losing her sense of self. She doesn’t work through much, but sometimes, the journey is the destination. 

Once she sees that her phone, which she’s using for navigation, is fully charged, she unplugs it and grabs Carina’s to toss it in. When it lights up, she sees that Carina has 24 missed calls from her brother, along with 43 texts. They’re still about an hour outside of San Francisco, and Maya quickly debates whether to wake Carina. She doesn’t want to, but she knows she has to. So she gently rubs her arm and starts talking to her until Carina starts to wake up. 

“Are we there?” Carina asks. 

“Not quite, but your brother has called you, like, 20 times,” Maya explains. “I figured it might be important.” 

Carina nearly jumps out of her seat, and takes her phone out of Maya’s hand. She calls him back in a rush, her voice still deep with sleep. The sound of the music fades into the background as Carina starts speaking to Andrew in Italian. She’s speaking extremely quickly, and Maya can’t make out a single word, so she tries to gauge what’s happening just by glancing at Carina’s face. It’s pretty clear that Carina is agitated. 

The conversation goes on. It gets louder at some points, and quieter at others. Once they get closer to the city, Maya stops again for gas and then does another coffee drive thru as well as picks up Taco Bell for dinner, against her better judgment. Aside from two second breaks to apologize and tell Maya what she wants to eat, Carina and Andrew continue arguing, even after Maya has picked up the keys to the Airbnb and unloaded the car. Carina holes up in the kitchen, sitting cross-legged on a stool, and then after a particularly angry interaction, hangs up the phone. 

“Sorry, I didn’t want to miss dinner,” Carina says, trying to get her frustration under control. Maya stands across the island from her, holding the bag from Taco Bell. 

“What’s going on?” Maya asks, concerned. She hands Carina her quesadilla and then grabs out her burrito. 

“I don’t want to talk about it, he’s making me angry,” Carina replies. “I just want to enjoy the evening with you.” 

“Okay,” Maya replies, a little bit dejected. “You tell me if you want to talk.” 

Carina assures her she will, but Maya knows she won’t. Not about this. Not yet. For one reason or another. They share a Baja blast, again against Maya’s better judgment, and Maya tells Carina that she has to stop apologizing for being on the phone for that long, and it was totally okay and not an inconvenience or annoyance to her. After dinner, they finally stumble into the shower, both eager to wash away the nearly two days of being dirty and sweaty. Carina checks up on Maya’s knee once again, glad that the cut is healing. Maya insists the bruising isn’t bothering her and that she’s feeling fine. Carina has quite a few bug bites on her calf that she is a bit grumpy over, but for the most part, they’re in good physical shape. Maya presses Carina against the wall of the shower and kisses her gently. 

“I love you,” Maya reminds her. “All of you, no matter what.” 

“I love you too,” Carina promises. “It’s not that I don’t trust you.” 

“Okay.” 

“I just, it’s a lot to get into, and I would rather enjoy my time with you,” Carina clarifies. Maya nods, and leans in for another kiss, which becomes two kisses, which becomes a lot of kisses. Carina moans into Maya’s mouth when Maya slides her tongue inside, and her nails rake down Maya’s back. Maya presses their chests together, and Carina bites Maya’s bottom lip at the feeling. Carina finally breaks the kiss, a little out of breath and a lot aroused. 

“I believe you owe me one,” Carina points out, raising an eyebrow. 

“You want me to pull out the strap on?” Maya asks, excited. Carina nods, and they quickly finish up in the shower and dry off. “Have you decided what position you want?” Maya asks, rummaging through her bag looking for it. Carina watches Maya bent over, naked, going through her bag on the floor. “Carina?” Maya asks, turning towards her.

“What?” Carina asks, confused. 

“I asked what position you want,” Maya repeats, a teasing glint in her eye. She grabs the strap on as well as the lube and cleaning spray. She takes it into the bathroom, cleaning off the toy before putting it on. 

“Oh, of course. I was thinking you could fuck me in the, what do you call it? Dog position?” Carina asks. Maya breaks out in laughter from the bathroom and Carina smiles.

“Yes, I will fuck you like that,” Maya replies. She walks back into the bedroom, dildo strapped around her hips, lube in her hand. She stops to grab a few towels, and lays them down on the bed. 

“You have no confidence that I won’t make a mess,” Carina teases. Maya smiles, tugging Carina towards her and kissing her gently. 

“If I do this right, you should make a mess,” Maya insists. She knows that getting fucked hard with fingers or a toy is usually what makes Carina squirt. Carina bites her lip in excitement. She gets onto the bed and tugs Maya towards her for a moment, adjusting so that Maya is kneeling on the bed and she’s laying on her stomach. Maya puts the lube down on the bedside table and watches as Carina takes the strapon in her mouth. It’s not the longest, but thick and curved and a light blue color. Carina loves the opportunity to suck Maya off because she knows it feels good to rub the insert on her clit while giving her the visual of a blowjob. Carina licks all around it before starting to suck on the head gently. She grips the base and rubs it just right against Maya’s clit while she gets it wet with her mouth. Maya lets her suck her for a moment, until she can tell the rubbing on her clit is getting her too excited. She pushes her head off gently and Carina gets in position while Maya adds lube to the strap on, wanting to make sure it’s really slick for her. 

“Maya,” Carina starts, as she gets herself adjusted on all fours and spreads her legs so Maya can kneel between them. Maya can see that Carina is already a little wet, and can’t resist leaning in to lick her for a moment. In the name of making sure she’s wet enough, but really, just because she needs to taste her. Carina moans and Maya reciprocates it, her moan vibrating against Carina’s labia. Maya bites one of her lips playfully and then pulls her mouth away, licking her lips. She knows she’s going to get carried away if she doesn’t stop now. 

“I want you to take me, Maya,” Carina requests. Maya smiles a little. Although she’s much less often dominant with Carina than she was with previous partners, she still enjoys it occasionally. 

“That’s my good girl,” Maya replies, letting her commanding side take over. Maya adjusts her position, spreading Carina’s legs again, staring at her soaked pussy. She then slowly pushes the dildo into her, holding her hips steady. She stills once it’s all the way in to let Carina adjust. Carina whines and starts rolling her hips to give her some friction. One of Maya’s hands makes its way up her back and gently tugs on her hair, still wet from the shower. 

“Who is in charge here, Carina?” Maya asks. Carina’s pussy clenches around the toy in excitement.

“You,” she replies quickly.

“Good. Now good girls stay still and take what they get, don’t they?”

“Yes,” Carina replies. She’s desperate for Maya to move, for anything. The way Maya’s voice dips a bit deeper when she gets dominant never fails to make Carina soaked. 

“Are you a good girl?” Maya asks. Carina whines quietly in excitement, trying desperately to keep her squirming hips still.

“Yes,” Carina whines. 

This satisfies Maya, who holds her hips and starts fucking her nice and slow. The curve and the ribbing on it make it rub her walls perfectly. Carina has no idea how she got so wet so fast, little noises fall from her lips with each thrust. Maya keeps her rhythm steady and licks her lips at her view—Carina’s tight ass, her arched back, her dark, long hair. 

Maya slowly shifts Carina’s hips closer together, until her legs cage Carina’s in. This makes the dildo slide deeper inside her. Maya struggles a bit to thrust with how tight it makes her feel, but Carina lets out a moan at just how stuffed her pussy is. Maya goes on like that, each thrust painfully slow, for a few minutes, Carina barely able to hold herself up. Sensing that Carina is going to collapse forward, Maya adjusts them so that Carina can get onto her elbows instead and spread her legs nice and wide. Maya’s hand roams her lower back as she thrusts into her again, moving a little faster this time. 

Carina knows that dominant Maya is coming. And she can’t wait. The anticipation of being dominated is making her pussy flutter. Then, on queue, Maya rubs her ass gently for a moment before smacking it. Carina moans and wetness gushes out of her pussy at the feeling of pleasure mixed with pain.

“Please, more,” Carina begs.

“You want a rough fuck? You want me to fuck you hard and fast and smack your ass and tug your hair?” Maya asks. Her voice is the octave Carina only hears when Maya is turned on and dominating her in bed, and she loves it.

“Yes, please,” Carina replies. Maya really ups her game, starting to fuck her hard and fast into the bed, holding onto her hips with one hand. She grabs Carina’s ponytail with her other hand and starts tugging it in rhythm with her thrusts. Carina moans so loud she doesn’t even recognize it, and every nerve ending in her body is on fire. She had discovered that she likes to be dominated occasionally a long time ago, but it’s rare that she trusts someone enough to want them to do it. But she trusts Maya with everything. Maya alternates tugging her hair with smacking her ass and Carina sneaks a hand down to rub her clit. She knows she’s not allowed to touch herself—she does it because she wants to get caught. Maya sees and swats her hand away.

“You are so bad,” Maya insists, breathing heavily as she pounds into her over and over. Carina moans excitedly, loving the feeling of being naughty. Maya gently swats her wet pussy a few times to punish her and each touch feels so good and burns deep with both pleasure and pain. 

“Oh my god, Mayaaaaaa,” Carina moans, feeling her orgasm coming. There’s no doubt that she’s going to make a mess of this bed. Maya squeezes her ass and fucks her harder, angling so she hits her g spot with the curve with each thrust. She then lets one hand slide down to give her clit the little rub she knows it needs. She rubs it with her palm a little hard but not too hard, just enough to make Carina feel good. 

Carina lets out a string of moans against the bed as Maya’s hand finds her breasts, squeezing and starting to pinch and tug a sensitive nipple. Carina screams into the sheets and her fingers grasp the bed so hard that they turn white. A slew of Italian curses fall out of her mouth and then she stills for a second before she screams again and squirts everywhere. Maya watches her pussy as it pulses and she ejaculates with multiple squirts gushing all over them both and the bed. Carina holds on and moans through the seemingly endless pleasure flying through her body, her limbs kicking and flailing. Maya’s back arches and the strap on hits her clit just right as she’s watching Carina cum, and it’s just enough to push her over the edge, too. 

Maya moans and falls forward onto Carina, covered in her own ejaculate, while she rides out her high. Once she comes down, she tries to move herself out of the way, a little out of it and uncoordinated. She takes off the strapon and tosses it aside before laying down next to Carina. Usually, when they do this, Maya will make her cum over and over again, until Carina can’t handle it anymore. But Maya can see in Carina’s eyes that that was enough for tonight. 

“You ok, babygirl?” Maya asks, cradling Carina’s head in her lap. It’s one of the softest things Maya has ever done and Carina smiles.

“I love you, so much,” Carina reminds her. Maya smiles and kisses her forehead. 

“I love you, too,” Maya replies. Theys it in silence for a moment, until Maya can tell Carina is fading. “Baby, I need to toss these towels in the washer before you fall asleep on me,” she insists. Carina chuckles, and rolls over onto the sheets. Maya takes a clean towel and cleans up Carina’s legs and vulva before pulling them all off the bed and tossing them in the washer. She stops to grab water and go to the bathroom, and by the time she climbs back into bed, Carina is fast asleep, spooning the covers as if they are Maya. Maya takes a quick photo of her before replacing the covers with her body, letting Carina spoon her from behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone! i am so sorry for the delay on this chapter. for one, everything going on with Danielle has made me feel less inspired to write Maya. then i watched Too Close to Home, which Danielle is also in, and wrote a 12k oneshot piece pairing Vic with Danielle's character, Anna. (If you have any interest in that, please take a look—it is probably my favorite thing i've ever written, and it's called montgomery).
> 
> i also just started my new job, and am still studying for this big exam, so there's a lot going on. but bottom line is i absolutely love this story and am not abandoning it. there's a chance my next update won't be for a few more weeks, but i'm going to do the best i can with the time that i have!
> 
> please leave me a comment down below, because they keep me going! and let me know if you caught the instagram reference :)


	5. day 5: san francisco

Maya wakes up the next morning with Carina behind her, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist. One of Carina’s hands rests on her toned stomach, and the other cups her breast. Somehow, whenever they spoon like this, no matter how they fall asleep, they wake up with Carina’s hands on her chest. Maya stealthy slides out of her grip to wash up, put some pajamas on, and make some coffee for both of them with the Keurig. She brings two mugs of coffee into the bedroom, putting one on her bedside table and the other on Carina’s. She then climbs back into bed and curls back up with Carina, placing her head on Carina’s chest and wrapping her arm around her waist. After about a minute, Maya glances up to see if her eyes are open. She looks at her closed eyes and still body questioningly, knowing Carina usually wakes up far more easily than this. 

“Why are you staring at me?” Carina mumbles, her eyes still closed. 

“Why are you pretending to be asleep?” Maya questions, leaning up to kiss her cheek. Carina finally opens her eyes and sees Maya’s big blue eyes staring into hers, a small smile on her face. 

“I was just enjoying the cuddle,” Carina explains, rubbing her hand up and down Maya’s arm. “And I’m tired.” 

Maya placed a couple of kisses on Carina’s collarbone before resting her head on her chest again. Carina is naked under her still, Maya’s tank top and shorts the only items of clothing separating their bodies. 

“Are you excited for a full day of no driving?” Maya asks. Today is the one of the only days of the trip where they aren’t planning to do any driving. 

“So excited. I’ve always wanted to visit San Francisco,” Carina replies. She leans down and presses a kiss to the top of Maya’s head. 

“You and the rest of us,” Maya teases. “I’m excited just to spend a whole day walking around with you.” 

“Can we sit up so I can drink this coffee you very generously made me?” Carina asks, stroking Maya’s back gently. Maya moves off Carina to let her sit up. Carina pats the spot in between her legs and Maya slides in between, both of them grabbing their coffee and drinking it while they chat. It’s not the best coffee ever, but they both enjoy it anyway. 

“I missed you bringing me coffee in the mornings,” Carina muses. Back at home, Maya usually brings Carina coffee in the morning when she gets back from her run, whenever Carina stays the night. 

“I love bringing you coffee,” Maya replies. Maya pulls out the Notes app on her phone and they go over their walking plan for the day. It wasn’t going to be anything too physically taxing. Instead, they were planning on going through Chinatown, then hitting Ghirardelli Square and the wax museum. But, the plan was to spend a lot of the day at a park, eating unhealthy food and drinking expensive coffee and just...talking. And, of course, they would end the evening watching the sunset. 

Carina puts her coffee down after a few minutes and starts gently rubbing circles on Maya’s stomach over her tank top subconsciously. Maya leans over to put her coffee down as well and then settles into Carina, dropping her head back on her shoulder gently. Carina’s other hand slides down to her bare thigh, cupping it gently. Suddenly, Maya is incredibly aware of the fact that Carina is naked behind her. 

“You, uh, gotta be careful with those hands, or we are never going to see San Francisco,” Maya warns. Carina freezes and chuckles.

“Sorry, I wasn’t even thinking,” Carina mumbles. Maya turns her head a little to kiss the underside of Carina’s jaw. 

“It’s okay, I love the way you feel, but you were reaching a point of no return.” 

“We’ll finish this later,” Carina promises. Maya finally pries herself out of Carina’s arms and they both get ready for the day. Maya puts on basic jeans with a sleeveless blouse tucked in and converse. Carina, by contrast, opts for a flowy sundress. Maya stands behind her in the bathroom as she puts on her makeup. 

“Why are you watching me?” Carina grumbles, trying to focus on her mascara. 

“Why are you putting makeup on to go sweat all day?” Maya questions. She sits on the edge of the tub and starts scrolling on her phone. 

“I want to look good,” Carina insists. Maya tells her she looks good without makeup, and Carina glares at her, which shuts Maya up. It’s not that she doesn’t fully support Carina’s affinity for wearing makeup sometimes, she just is impatient and hates waiting for her to get ready. Once Carina is finally done, she packs up her makeup and walks over to Maya. She kneels down in front of her, pulls her phone out of her hand, and presses a soft kiss to her lips. 

“I love you. Thank you for waiting. Let’s go explore,” Carina tells her, stroking her cheek gently. 

“Sorry I have no patience,” Maya replies, a small smile on her lips. Carina chuckles and kisses her again. 

Their Airbnb is near Chinatown, so they start off walking through there. They find their way to the entry gate and stare for a moment. Carina slides her hand into Maya’s and Maya squeezes it gently. 

“Wow, this is so much more…than I thought it would be. This is really cool,” Maya admits. They take a selfie with the entrance behind them, and Carina leans over to kiss Maya’s cheek. Maya has the biggest smile on her face, and she lights up when Carina kisses her. She turns to give her a quick kiss on the lips before they move along, hand in hand. They take a self-guided walking tour, stopping into a number of different places to try new foods. 

“I feel like I am in another country,” Maya mumbles. Carina starts telling her about her trips throughout Asia before she moved to America. She tells her all about Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan, before explaining how she always wanted to go to Beijing but never quite made it. Eventually, they leave Chinatown and take a longer walk down to Ghirardelli Square. Maya has a huge sweet tooth when it comes to chocolate, so Carina insists on buying them more than a few pieces of chocolate to share. They grab some tea and their chocolate and head to a park, taking a seat in the grass. 

“Here,” Carina says, handing Maya a chocolate bar. 

“I’m ok for now,” Maya insists, sipping her chai latte. 

“It’s hot. It’s going to melt,” Carina tells her, pulling off a piece and eating it. Maya shrugs, and Carina sighs in frustration. “I bought it for you, Maya.” 

Maya takes a piece of chocolate and quietly munches on it. She’s sure to thank Carina, and Carina sits with her guilt in silence. 

“I’m sorry I pushed,” Carina says. Maya shakes her head and squeezes her hand. 

“It’s fine,” Maya insists. “You know I’m just weird about this stuff.” 

“You’re not weird about it, you were manipulated into believing you didn’t deserve to eat the things you like, and it still affects you sometimes, and I know that, because we have talked about it, and I know you’re trying, and I shouldn’t push you when you’re not feeling it.” 

“I don’t know how to explain it, some days I’m fine with chocolate, and some days it just makes me anxious. I think it’s just because I haven’t exercised much this week,” Maya explains. “I’m working on it. I didn’t mean to ruin the mood.” 

“You didn’t ruin the mood, it’s fine,” Carina promises. She tugs Maya closer and kisses her forehead. “Though, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten as much exercise in a few days as I have this week,” Carina teases. In hindsight, Maya is most annoyed at herself because she was hoping that the calm park environment would be the perfect place to try to breach the Andrew conversation with Carina, and at this point, she has kind of blown that by already being a downer. So instead, she lets Carina change the subject, and soon enough, they’re heading to the wax museum. They have a great time there, forgetting about the little bit of tension from earlier. 

At one point, Carina catches Maya staring at her instead of at the wax sculpture. Carina looks over at her with a small smile on her face. 

“You know, we didn’t need to come to San Francisco for you to look at my profile,” Carina teases. Maya squeezes her forearm, wrapping her hands around it gently. For how intense and cold Maya can be, she can also be the softest, most loving person Carina has ever met. Maya just shrugs at her and Carina melts. 

Eventually, they head off to grab some wraps for an early dinner to go and head over to find a place to watch the sunset near the beach and the Golden Gate Bridge. They sit in the sand and eat their wraps while they take in what feels like peak San Francisco. 

“This road trip was the best idea you’ve ever had, and the next one we do will be through Italy,” Maya insists. 

“I can’t believe you’ve lived on the west coast your whole life and you haven’t been to any of these sights,” Carina explains. 

“You’re the one with the travel bug,” Maya teases.

“You hiked to Everest Base Camp!” 

“Okay, that was more like, a power move to show myself that I could do it. More than a desire to travel. I went alone. It was freezing cold, it took forever, and I was alone. It was nothing like this.” 

“Traveling alone can be special, too. You learn a lot about yourself.” 

“I think it was just that, the lessons I was looking for were just me proving to myself that I could do it. It wasn’t really about learning about myself, it was just about accomplishing.” 

“I get that,” Carina says. Once she’s finished with her wrap, she slides between Maya’s legs, and places Maya’s hand on her thigh over her dress. They sit together in silence for a long time while they watch the sunset. When they do speak, it is to rank the sunset amongst the various sunsets they’ve watched together, and to share their thoughts on the Golden Gate Bridge. 

After the sunset, they choose to take an Uber back to their Airbnb. Not only have they strayed awfully far from it over the course of the day, but they also don’t want to walk any far distance in the dark. 

“You know, this is like, the one bad thing about dating a woman,” Maya huffs as they wait for their driver. 

“Not wanting to walk in the dark with them?” Carina asks, slightly amused.

“Yeah. If you were a dude we could walk in the dark.” 

“Okay, but if one of us were going to be a dude, it would be you, not me,” Carina insists. 

“Yeah, that’s probably true,” Maya admits, a small smile on her lips. 

Fortunately, their Uber driver is pretty nice. He chats with them about where they’re from and loves Carina’s accent. Maya gets a bit protective when she feels like he’s flirting with Carina, and places her hand inappropriately high on Carina’s bare thigh. By the time they get out of the Uber, Carina starts laughing and tugging Maya towards the Airbnb.

“You were really jealous of him asking me about Italy!” Carina exclaims. “Maya, he’s like twice our age.” 

“I know, I just don’t like when men flirt with you,” Maya replies. “Not being possessive, I just…”

“Sounds pretty possessive to me,” Carina notes. Maya and Carina can both get quite jealous and possessive. It sometimes causes issues, for instance whenever Maya has to be alone with Jack, or when Maya gets too protective of Carina. But for the most part, it’s just a funny thing to laugh about and tease each other about. Especially when the man in question is a sixty year old Uber driver who simply asked Carina about where she was from. 

Carina announces that she’s going to take a shower, thinking Maya will join. Instead, Maya insists she wants to get a quick ab and arm workout in while Carina is in the shower. Carina strips her dress off in the bedroom to put it in her bag, and Maya grumbles to her about how unfair that is while she also takes off her clothes and puts on a black sports bra and white Nike pros. Carina teases her about how she could be joining her before heading into the bathroom and closing the door. 

When Carina emerges from the shower, Maya is doing push ups. Carina dries her body and hair a bit and puts on an oversized Station 19 shirt that Maya has let her steal. She climbs in bed and starts to read an article on her phone that Amelia had sent her earlier in the day. But she’s more than a bit distracted by watching her hot, toned girlfriend work out right in front of her. Carina’s eyes scan her body, watching her muscles ripple. Her shoulders and back, her arms, her abs, her legs...every inch of her body is absolutely perfect. Her ass looks particularly good, the white tight shorts accentuate each movement. 

Without thinking, Carina spreads her legs under the blanket, and slides one hand under to start to touch herself with one hand. She feels naughty and devious, touching herself watching her girlfriend work out. But she keeps it to little touches, just rubbing her palm on her pussy and almost gasping out loud when she realizes she’s already a little wet. Maya knows Carina is watching her, but has absolutely no idea where her hand is. The pressure builds between Carina’s legs more when Maya starts to do squats. She wants to point out that Maya had said she was only doing arms and abs, but Maya puts her back to Carina to do her squats. Truthfully, Maya does it just to tease Carina a little, but also because a little booty workout never hurt anyone.

Carina feels a flood between her legs as Maya squats. She watches her muscles flex as she moves, her slightly-sweaty back, her calves and thighs, and of course, the ass she loves to worship and punish. Carina slowly slides one finger inside herself and bites her lip to stay quiet. She starts to wonder how Maya can do so many squats without taking a break. 

Maya finally finishes up her squats and turns around with a teasing look on her face. Maya smiles softly for a beat and then her face changes—she can automatically tell by Carina’s expression that she’s aroused. Maya feels the rush of arousal run through her body and she walks over to Carina and tugs the blanket down. Carina leans back and moans and spreads her legs for her, so Maya can see her wet hand, two fingers inside herself, moving nice and slow, her pussy soaked. Maya licks her lips—all she wants to do is slap Carina’s hand away and put her mouth on her, taste every inch of her and make her cum on her tongue. 

But instead, she lifts her gaze, both of their eyes dark with arousal. And then she walks around the bed and pulls off her workout clothes. 

“Grab the vibrators,” Carina tells her, her voice low with arousal. Maya smirks and grabs both the bullet vibrator and the bigger vibrator out of her bag. She climbs into the bed next to Carina and places the vibrators between them. Carina moves to take off her shirt, because she’s getting hot and it’s starting to stick to her, before she gets back to work. Maya also spreads her legs, letting their thighs bump against each other. But she puts on a show for Carina. She starts by spending a few minutes touching her chest, squeezing her breasts gently. She feels her nipples hardening against her hands and licks a couple of her fingers so she can play with her nipples, rolling and pinching and tugging them. Maya feels herself getting soaked while she stares at Carina’s hand moving between her own legs, her fingers slick and shining from how wet she is. 

“Touch yourself for me, Maya,” Carina demands. Maya’s just been teasing her breasts and nipples, which makes Carina deeply wish she could suck on them. Her nipples are light pink in contrast with Carina’s more red nipples, but both pairs are swollen big and hard and crown their breasts. 

Maya slides a hand down to hold one of her thighs open and then closes her eyes and moans as she rubs two fingers down her folds. She repeats that movement a few times before slowly inserting one finger inside herself. She lets herself adjust for a minute, wiggling it around, and then slides in a second. 

“Oh, Carina,” she moans, her head back as she finds a rhythm. Carina moans loudly at hearing Maya moan her name. She grips Maya’s other thigh to help hold her open and just to ground herself as she starts rubbing her clit with her palm while she fingers herself. Carina lets out another dirty moan and Maya picks her head up, only to see that Carina is close. 

“Maya,” Carina whines. Her fingers pounding into her over and over again make her feel like she can’t see or think. It’s all too much, her palm hitting her big, swollen clit. “I’m gonna cum.” 

“Good, that’s my girl, cum for me. Cum all over this bed for me baby,” Maya tells her. Carina intently watches Maya, and Maya responds by putting on a show—she takes her hand off her chest and rides her fingers, so her boobs bounce with each movement. 

“Ugh, Carina,” Maya moans, dirty and low.

Hearing Maya moan her name like that pushes her over the edge. She lets out a loud whine as she tenses, her walls clamping down on her fingers, and then the pure pleasure starts to course through her body. Carina moans for her—really moans for her—and her legs kick Maya’s as her body spasms with her waves of pleasure. 

Carina comes down, and then puts her fingers in her mouth to suck them clean. Maya’s eyes go wide—she would kill to taste her girlfriend right now. Carina locks eyes with Maya and the eye contact burns deep in both of them. They hold the contact until Carina can’t anymore, reaching over to grab something. Carina grabs Maya’s favorite vibrator from between them, turns it on, and starts to fuck herself with it. Maya knows which toy it is the second she hears it and whines in jealousy. Her fingers are sore from the miserable slow pace she’s built. 

Carina fucks herself with the vibrator for a couple of minutes before passing it to Maya. Maya takes it eagerly and replaces her fingers with the toy, turning it up to the next setting. She knows exactly how to get it to hit her sensitive spot with each thrust. It drives her crazy and the room is filled with the sounds of both of them moaning, the toy vibrating, and fingers rubbing soaked pussies. Maya’s back arches up and Carina watches, wishing she could suck on those nipples that Maya is so generously pushing up. 

Maya doesn’t give the toy back to Carina, much to Carina’s chagrin, leaving her with just her fingers once more. Carina grabs the bullet vibrator, turns it on, and presses it against her labia. She knows it’ll be too much on her clit, but she just wants to tease herself with a little bit of vibration. Maya starts to climb towards her orgasm, turning the vibration up to the highest setting and letting out loud moans when it hits her g spot just right. She tries to rub her clit with her free hand as best she can, licking her palm first for a little more slickness. 

“CariNA,” Maya moans. Carina’s hand stills as she intently watches her girlfriend’s frantic movements and hears the desperate tinge in her voice. “Ughhhhhh, gonna, cum,” Maya tells her. Carina almost chuckles to herself—it couldn’t have been more obvious that Maya is about to cum. Maya feels the tightening in her belly and her hand moves on its own accord, frantically getting her there. Carina starts talking to her in Italian—calling her her bad girl and telling her to cum for her. Maya doesn’t understand a word but she can tell from Carina’s tone that it’s dirty. Mayas back flies up and her hips jerk and she finally cums. Her legs fly shut and her eyes closed and Carina watches her boobs bounce as she screams and then moans with each wave of pleasure, her body moving on its own volition. Carina is impressed by how good of an orgasm Maya is enjoying. 

A moment later, Maya flops back on the bed and Carina feels like she’s soaked herself again from watching her orgasm. Maya pulls the toy out of herself and turns it off, letting it rest on her stomach for a moment. Carina reaches for it, wanting to finish herself off again, but Maya swats her hand away. Instead, she brings the vibrator up to her mouth and starts sucking on it. She makes eye contact with Carina as she licks and sucks on it, swirling her tongue around, and although Carina does not have a dick, the sight of Maya giving the toy a semi-blowjob for her makes her clit throb. Maya sucks it until it’s clean and then licks her lips.

“It tastes like you,” Maya says, an innocent look on her face and a small smile. “And me.”

That sets Carina in motion. Carina climbs on top of Maya and lets her soaked pussy rub on Maya’s mound. She puts her tongue in Maya’s mouth and they make out and moan in each other’s mouths as Carina tribs on her girlfriend. Maya tugs her up a little so she can rub on her lower stomach instead, since it’s less bony and more muscular than her mound. Carina’s hips buck frantically, her knees framing Maya’s hips. Maya helps hold her so she’s steady on top and they both let out a moan when their nipples bump. They love the feeling of their chests pressed together, nipples running along sensitive skin. But whenever their nipples actually touch, they both moan in excitement. Maya tugs Carina’s bottom lip with her teeth and then sucks on it, and Carina whines. 

Maya tugs Carina up a little more so that she can suck on Carina’s breasts and nipples while she rubs her clit and pussy on her stomach. Carina lets her head fall back and moans fall from her lips as she just tries to stay upright and balanced on her girl. Maya can feel how absolutely soaked Carina is making her stomach and knows how much Carina is loving getting her breasts sucked. Maya absolutely loves it when her strong, smart, beautiful girlfriend is a moaning mess on top of her. 

Carina only lasts a couple of minutes like this, dirty, drawn-out moans falling from her lips and wetness gushing out of her pussy onto Maya’s strong, muscular stomach over and over. Maya tugs one of her red, hard nipples into her mouth, biting gently and then sucking it again. She’s always loved how big and hard Carina’s nipples get when she’s turned on. Carina moans Maya’s name followed by a series of Italian words—mostly curses. Maya finally bites her nipple again and that throws Carina over the edge and she finally feels the huge rush of pleasure make its way through her body. Her pussy pulses on Maya and she soaks her stomach.

Maya tries to hold Carina up so that she can stay steady through her orgasm. Carina’s hips and arms are all over the place and Maya just barely dodges getting accidentally clocked. Once Carina settles down, Maya helps her roll off of her. Carina rests her head on Mays’s upper chest and wraps her arms and legs around her, like a koala holding onto a tree. 

“You ok?” Maya asks, equal parts humored and confused by Carina’s position. 

“Just love you,” Carina mumbles. It’s the sweetest thing she could’ve possibly said, so she kisses her forehead and holds her koala girlfriend. She vows to give Carina about a few minutes for cuddling before they need to get up and wash up. 

“Ti amo, Carina,” Maya says in her best Italian accent. It always makes Carina swoon when Maya tells her she loves her in her native language. “But we are not going to fall asleep like this, again.” 

“Yes, we are,” Carina mumbles. 

And, in the end, Maya’s persistence for adequate post-sex hygiene once again comes in second to the strong cuddle desires of her soft, sweet, sleepy girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm finally back! i'm so sorry for the long wait. i am going to do what i can to not make y'all wait this long next time.
> 
> i apologize that this chapter feels a bit like a filler. i had a lot of ideas for SF—mostly just because it is one of the only places in this fic that i've actually been. i promise next chapter will be much more action-packed. i hope that, after the long gap between chapters, the fluff would be welcomed.
> 
> please let me know what you think in the comments! i absolutely love reading and responding to comments. y'all keep me writing.


	6. day 6: big sur

“We have to shower before we go,” Maya mumbles, pressing her lips softly against Carina’s. “Now.” 

“No we don’t,” Carina mumbles, her hands gently roaming Maya’s bare back.

“Yes, we do,” Maya teases, playing with Carina’s hair. “If you shower with me, I’ll make it worth it,” Maya promises. Carina lights up at that and all but jumps out of bed, walking into the bathroom to turn the water on. Maya laughs and follows suit, wrapping her arms around Carina from behind and pressing their naked bodies together as Carina tests the water, waiting for it to get warm. 

“How are you going to make it worth it?” Carina asks, smirking at her over her shoulder. Maya presses a soft kiss to her bare shoulder before sliding one hand down to cup the top of her thigh and the other hand up to cup her chest. 

“Get in and I’ll show you,” Maya mumbles against her lips. They stumble into the shower, water not quite warm enough, and Maya presses Carina against the wall and kisses her deeply. They make out for a minute before they hear a phone start ringing from the bedroom. Carina curses in Italian and Maya laughs and presses their foreheads together, waiting for it to stop. But as soon as the ringing stops, it starts back up again. 

“We should go check that,” Maya mumbles. Carina groans in response, so Maya kisses her one last time before stepping out of the shower, grabbing a towel, and padding into the bedroom. She sees it is Carina’s phone, a series of calls from her father. Why everyone in Carina’s family is incapable of calling once and waiting for a response is beyond Maya. She calls Carina over, who finishes washing off her body, the bare minimum she needed to accomplish, before getting out of the shower and trading places with Maya. Maya gets back in the shower, determined to wash herself off properly before they head out for another day of hiking. 

After her shower, Maya finishes packing up their bags and places some clothes in front of Carina expectantly. Carina hangs up in a haste, insists things are fine, and Maya can feel herself rolling her eyes before her brain knows that’s what she’s doing. Carina pointedly ignores it and gets dressed quietly before helping Maya pack up the car. It is Carina’s turn to drive, and Maya navigates. They stop for Starbucks before getting on the highway, Maya ordering her gross iced coffee once more and Carina opting for just a double shot of espresso this time. 

They take in the beautiful sights of Highway 1 as they drive, and they talk a bit more about the cabin they’ll be staying in. Carina is just glad they won’t be in a tent again, knowing that she doesn’t have the patience for another night of suffering. Maya talks Carina through the hiking options again, automatically vetoing the hikes labelled as “strenuous,” not wanting to deal with an overheating girlfriend again. They pick a shorter trail, knowing that all of them will be beautiful anyway. 

About forty minutes into the drive Maya is on yet another rant about Andy letting everyone at the station cut corners, in her view, while she’s gone, when suddenly, their rental car starts making a strange noise. 

“What’s that?” Carina asks, frantic. She’s never heard a noise like that come from a car before, and they both look at each other, confused. It seems to still be working just fine, but Maya tells her to pull off where she can. They pull off about a mile ahead, in a designated pull off spot overlooking the water. 

“At least we have a nice view,” Maya mumbles, getting out of the car. Carina gets out as well, and Maya opens the hood. 

“Does anything look weird to you?” Maya asks Carina. She has to admit that for as much of a tomboy as she was as a kid, cars were never her forte. 

“No, but I don’t know how it’s supposed to look,” Carina admits. Maya laughs at their predicament. 

“Okay, let me phone a friend,” Maya insists. “Neither of us know what we are doing.” 

Carina sighs, and Maya takes out her phone. She walks a few steps away and tosses her AirPods in. 

“Who are you calling?” Carina questions. Maya just gives her a look and walks further away, taking in the view of the ocean.

“Someone who can help us,” Maya calls. Carina leans against the side of the car, frustrated. Maya scans her body, appreciating her tight jeans with her white tee shirt tucked in. She’s wearing Maya’s white converse, and Maya is jealous about how cute they look on her. She hits the name of the person she’s trying to call and hits FaceTime. 

“Maya, hey, is something wrong?” Jack asks. She can tell he is laying down on his couch, probably playing video games. 

“Yeah, our rental car is making a weird noise, and I know you’re good with cars, can you help?” Maya begs. “Please.” 

“Yeah, sure. What does the noise sound like and where is it coming from?” He asks. Maya explains the situation, at which point he requests she walk over to the hood to show him what’s going on. She hesitantly walks back over to the car and flips the screen for him. Carina walks around Maya to stand behind her, and sighs dramatically when she sees who she’s talking to.

“I knew it. I just knew it,” Carina grumbles. 

“Tell Carina I say hi,” he tells Maya. He can’t see her because Maya’s camera is flipped, but he hears her frustrated grumbles. 

“Yeah, I’m not going to do that,” Maya replies pointedly. Jack quickly figures out what is going on with the car and, after guiding Maya through a few tweaks, the noise stops. 

“Oh my God, thank you so much. You just saved our day,” Maya praises excitedly. She sees Carina roll her eyes out of the corner of her eye. Jack says it was no problem and he was glad to help, and then they hang up. Maya slides her phone into her pocket and walks around towards Carina, who is leaning against the side of the car again. She slides her arms around Carina’s waist and leans in to plant a soft kiss on her cheek. 

“Fixed,” Maya mumbles, before gently pulling Carina’s chin towards her for a soft kiss on the lips.

“How’s Jack?” Carina asks, still a bit annoyed. 

“I don’t know, I didn’t ask,” Maya replies. She lets her fingers find Carina’s belt loops, tugging their bodies even closer together. “I’ll drive, you take a break.” 

“You sure?” 

“Positive,” Maya insists, kissing Carina one more time before walking around to the driver’s seat and getting in. The ride is silent, Carina still brooding in the passenger’s seat. Maya tries to make small talk and tell her how good she looks in that white tee, and Carina doesn’t seem all that enthusiastic. Maya knew that Carina would be grumpy with her calling Jack, and if she had known anyone else who is good with cars, she would’ve called them. But alas. 

“Where are we going? I don’t think we need gas,” Carina questions, watching Maya take the exit off the highway. Maya follows signs for a Dunkin’ Donuts, before navigating through the drive thru. She orders a glazed donut while Carina looks at her, confused. After getting the donut, she drops the bag in Carina’s lap.

“A donut?” Carina asks. 

“You’re being grumpy because I had to call Jack to help with the car, so I’m giving you sugar. Part peace offering, part mood lifter,” Maya explains. Carina laughs. 

“I’m not grumpy,” Carina insists. 

“You’ve spoken, like, two words to me since we got the car fixed. You’re grumpy. I’m sorry I had to call Jack to help us fix the car. He’s the person I know who is good with cars.” 

“And why do you know he’s good with cars? Because he’s your ex-boyfriend,” Carina mumbles, playing with the bag. Maya rolls her eyes and navigates back onto the highway. 

“Yes. Yes, he is. And now he’s my friend and one of my Lieutenants. And that’s all there is to it,” Maya explains. “Just eat the donut.” 

Carina opens the bag and takes a bite of the donut. 

“This is so sweet,” Carina mumbles, a bit hesitant about this peace offering. 

“That is the point, my dear,” Maya teases. “Give me a piece.”

Carina breaks off a piece of the donut and feeds it to Maya while she drives. After a few minutes of munching on her donut, Carina starts to feel the bad mood going away. She is glad that Jack was able to help them fix the issue with the car, and she’s grateful that Maya stopped and got her a donut. She just can’t help but feel that frustration wash over her whenever Jack is involved. 

“Feeling better?” Maya asks, glancing over at Carina. She holds her and out in between them, and Carina places her hand in Maya’s. 

“Feeling better,” Carina replies, squeezing Maya’s hand. She knows she can’t keep punishing Maya for cheating on her forever, and that their relationship won’t last if she can’t learn to trust her. And she does trust her. She knows Maya isn’t interested in Jack and she won’t sleep with him again. But his very presence still makes her blood boil. “I think I have forgiven you, but I’m mad at him,” Carina admits. “We have done a lot of work on our relationship to get to this point, and I do feel a lot more comfortable with where we are at and the trust I have in you. And I know that you are the person I had the main problem with, and you were my girlfriend, not him. But I’m still mad at him for participating in that, knowing me, knowing you were with me. He could’ve stopped it, too. His willingness to fuck his boss, who he knows has a girlfriend, while she’s in a vulnerable place, is pretty frustrating to me.” 

“I understand that,” Maya notes. “He knows that. He has lots of issues with...taken people. He was also in a vulnerable place. And he is trying to do better,” she explains. “Maybe you should talk to him sometime.” 

“You would let me be in a room with him?” Carina questions. 

“Yeah, I mean. As long as you promise to talk to him like an adult and not yell at him or blame him for my bad decision. But if you think that telling him how you feel and getting to talk to him would help you forgive him as well, that could help,” Maya explains. Carina nods, and tells Maya she’ll think about it. “Do you really trust me, though?” Maya asks quietly.

“I do,” Carina promises. 

“When are we going to talk about your brother?” Maya questions. She knows this is dangerous territory, but she can’t stop herself from asking. She’s tried to be patient, but what she’s been getting from Carina hasn’t been enough. 

“Everything that is happening with my brother is bringing up a lot of things in my past that I am still working through,” Carina explains, squeezing Maya’s hand. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I do. It’s that I don’t talk about my childhood with people, at all, ever. And although I work hard in therapy to process it, I am bad at sharing that with people I love and care about because it scares me. I know you won’t look at me any differently, logically, and I know you won’t leave me. But my brain is wired to keep all of that down, and I need to work through this with my therapist before I bring you into it.” 

“But me breaking your trust has to make that harder,” Maya points out. Carina shrugs. 

“Maya, respectfully, it’s really not about you and what you did to me. I promise,” Carina insists. “Being here with you, in this domestic bliss we have, is what is keeping me afloat right now. I need the escape.” 

“Okay,” Maya says, squeezing Carina’s hand back. She isn’t entirely sure if she believes that she is not at fault, but she appreciates that Carina is trying to communicate with her and knows that she is also wired to believe everything is about her shortcomings when sometimes it’s not. 

They stop to pick up sandwiches for lunch and snacks for dinner from a local store as they get closer to their campsite. They finally drive through the park to their cabin, and unpack the car. Their first to-do is eating their lunch in relative silence, both eager to get out for their afternoon hike. Maya changes into her favorite pants to hike in and a racerback tank that accentuates her shoulder muscles. Carina changes as well, but takes her opportunity to wrap her arms around Maya and press some kisses to her shoulders. 

“I love you in this outfit,” Carina mumbles, biting her shoulder playfully. Maya moans unexpectedly and Carina gets the devilish glint in her eye once more.

“Nope, no, stop giving me those eyes,” Maya insists. “It’s time to hike,” she adds, closing her eyes so she doesn’t have to see the way Carina is looking at her like she wants to fuck her. Carina chuckles and kisses her cheek before walking away to start packing up their hiking backpacks. Maya takes a moment to calm her body down before grabbing their water bottles and an extra one for Carina. 

“I don’t need that much water, it’s a short hike,” Carina insists. Maya refuses to hear it, and insists that she’d rather them have too much water than not enough. Carina shrugs and relents, letting Maya take over the packing duty. They walk to the edge of their trail of choice, and Maya leads the way. She grabs her paper map, which she marked up in the car, and takes charge of guiding them. Carina follows behind Maya, openly staring at her ass that fills out her pants so devastatingly well. 

Carina has to admit, she’s starting to enjoy hiking. The breeze, the serenity, the fresh air, the views, and of course, the company. She loses herself in how free she feels. Maya keeps them on a strict water break schedule, and each time, she feels Carina’s forehead and the back of her neck to make sure she isn’t overheating.

“It’s not even that hot,” Carina mumbles. Maya smiles at her and presses a soft kiss to her cheek. 

“Let me take care of you,” Maya insists. 

Carina has to admit, she likes it when Maya takes care of her. When they’re about three-quarters of the way up to the peak of the mountain, they take a longer water break with the plan to rest for a few minutes. Carina washes her hands and drinks some water and Maya leans against a tree. Carina walks over to her and presses their lips together gently. 

“You know what’s unfair?” Carina asks, a teasing tone to her voice. Maya raises an eyebrow. “I have to stare at your ass in these perfectly fitted pants this entire hike, but I don’t get to touch,” Carina continues. “And I want to touch,” she finishes, a beat later. She pushes Maya against the tree and leans in to kiss her, cupping her face with her hands. Maya returns the kiss, one hand instinctively moving to her shoulder and the other squeezing her ass. They’re both kind of gross—a mix of some sweat and dirt—but Carina kisses her girlfriend, deep and dirty, against the tree until Maya is moaning in her mouth, and they’re absolutely getting carried away.

But it’s impossible not to get carried away with her lips against Maya’s and their tongues touching and Maya grabbing her ass. So they keep kissing, a little messy, lips and tongues everywhere. Carina’s body starts rocking against Maya’s subconsciously, Maya guiding her ass to grind their hips together gently. But it’s not until Carina’s leg slips between Maya’s and their centers rub on each other’s legs through their pants as they make out that they realize they’re teetering on the point of no return. 

“Fuck,” Maya mumbles against her lips. As much as they both love a really hot makeout session, their bodies are throbbing with the need for more. Maya finally breaks the kiss and rests her forehead on Carina’s, trying to cool her body down. Carina, however, has other ideas. She reaches between them and unbuttons Maya’s pants.

“What are you doing!?” Maya asks, bewildered and more than a little turned on. Carina drags the zipper down slowly and then lets her hand rest on Maya’s stomach for a moment, sliding it under her tank top. 

“There’s nobody around, my hands are clean, and I want to touch you,” Carina suggests. “I know you’ll be excited that someone could see us,” she adds, whispering next to Maya’s ear, before tugging her earlobe with her teeth. “Someone might watch how good I fuck you.” 

Maya audibly moans, and Carina smirks. The path they’re on has been basically empty, and they went off it a little to stop for their break, so Carina doesn’t actually think anyone will see them. But she knows that Maya secretly wants to get caught. 

“Fuck me,” Maya whispers back, before giving her girl another kiss. She feels dirty and naughty and adventurous and the lack of control over the situation is exhilarating. Carina kisses down her neck while she slides Maya’s tight pants down over her ass and helps her take them off one leg, leaving just her boyshorts on. Carina knows that this will make it much more obvious what they’re doing to anyone who passes by, but it’s not her fault that Maya is wearing tight pants without enough give. Carina bites Maya’s neck and then slides her hand into her boyshorts and rubs her pussy gently. 

Maya’s soaked, and Carina smirks against her skin. She pulls her fingers out and sucks on them for a minute to get them ready and then slowly slides two inside her. Maya moans and her head falls back against the tree. Carina’s free hand trails up her cutoff and she unzips her sports bra from the front so she can massage her boobs under her shirt while she fingers her. Carina sees Maya about to let out another moan and eagerly catches her lips with her own to muffle it. Teasing aside, she doesn’t actually want them to get kicked out. Maya is wet and tight around her fingers and Carina keeps having to kick her legs a little wider open so she can get her fingers to curl against her g spot. The thin fabric of Maya’s black boyshorts is the only thing separating Maya’s center from the open air. Carina’s other hand plays with Maya’s hard nipples and gently squeezes her breasts as they kiss, it getting more and more sloppy as neither of them are really focused on the kiss. 

Carina builds a fast rhythm, wanting to get Maya off quickly. She loves feeling Maya’s walls squeezing her fingers and she loves the way she can see and feel how good Maya feels when she rubs her g spot. Maya’s arousal drips down her fingers to her hand and pools around her wrist. Carina loves how messy it is, how she can feel the vibration of Maya moaning in her mouth and faintly taste her terrible iced coffee and how she gets to touch the most perfect pair of boobs she thinks has ever existed. 

Carina moves her hand faster and Maya shivers in anticipation, feeling her orgasm getting close. The pleasure builds in her stomach and then Carina starts rubbing her palm on her clit. In that moment, Maya is particularly grateful for the force in the universe for giving her a girlfriend who knows exactly how to get her off. 

Carina smiles when she feels how swollen Maya’s clit is as it rubs on her palm. Maya moans in her mouth and Carina starts tugging her nipples gently. 

“Uh,” Maya moans, her head falling back, her lips breaking apart. “Fuck,” Maya mumbles. Carina’s tweaking her nipples hard enough to hurt but just enough hurt to feel like surging pleasure through her body. Her fingers are slamming into her, the sounds of Carina’s fingers filling the air, her palm rubbing perfectly on her clit, making her let out a whine. 

“That’s my girl, let go for me. Let everyone on this trail hear how good I fuck you,” Carina whispers. Maya can barely keep her eyes open, locked with Carina’s as her girlfriend fucks her hard towards her orgasm. Carina sees Maya’s thighs start to quiver and she pushes their bodies closer so she can hold Maya up. 

And suddenly, Maya is closing her eyes and letting out a dirty moan Carina really thought she was going to be able to muffle with her mouth. Her walls squeeze Carina’s fingers so hard it hurts and wetness drips down her arm. Carina keeps massaging her breasts, letting the hard, swollen nipples rub against her hand. Maya feels pure ecstasy for a minute as she cums hard, the breeze surrounding them making it even more pleasurable. Carina does her best to keep Maya steady when her body spasms. 

Maya tries to catch her breath as she comes down. Carina just takes in the sight—Maya’s legs wide open, cargo pants hanging off one thigh, her hand in her boyshorts. Maya’s bra is unzipped under her shirt, Carina’s hand caressing one of her breasts under it, the other nipple poking through the thin fabric of her cutoff. Her ponytail has entirely come out from rubbing against the tree and her lips are swollen and red. Her pupils are dilated and her eyes dark. 

Her girlfriend takes her breath away. 

“That was so hot,” Maya mumbles. Carina takes her fingers out of her girlfriend and grabs Maya’s water bottle, spraying some water on her arm to help her wash off while Maya pulls her pants up and fixes her bra. 

“We don’t have time for me to return the favor now, but trust me, I have some...ideas about how I want to have my way with you next,” Maya teases, and then presses a kiss to her girlfriends lips. Carina playfully slaps her ass as Maya gets in front of her so they can get back on the hiking trail. Maya laughs. 

Once they get to the peak, they take a seat together on a rock, overlooking the breathtaking view. Carina curls into Maya’s arms and Maya wraps them around her tightly, nuzzling her face into Maya’s neck. They sit in serenity for a few minutes, trying to memorize everything about this moment. The way they feel together, the water and the mountains, the cool breeze of the California air. 

Eventually, Maya notices another couple sitting quite a bit away from them. They keep looking at them, such that it feels uncomfortable. Maya can feel their gaze. At first, she thinks maybe they’re just staring because Maya and Carina are clearly girlfriends, but after a minute or so, she starts thinking that the girl looks familiar. Something about her white and blue striped shirt rings a bell in her brain, but she can’t think of where she knows her from. Suddenly, another possibility starts to wash over her. Maya turns her head to look at Carina, who is completely clueless.

“That couple over there?” Maya whispers. “They’re staring at us.” 

“Well, we are pretty cute,” Carina teases, leaning down to kiss Maya gently. 

“She looks familiar,” Maya insists. “I think...I think we might have seen them on the trail earlier.”

Carina is utterly confused at why Maya is acting so weird. “Yeah, that wouldn’t be surprising? I don’t remember seeing them but it’s very possible that we crossed paths.” 

“No,” Maya insists. “I think I saw her, for a split second, while you were…” 

Carina’s eyes shoot wide open. “Are you sure?” Carina whispers. Maya shrugs and then presses her face against Carina’s neck, absolutely mortified. 

“Do you want to leave?” Carina asks, stroking Maya’s hair gently. Maya shakes her head but makes no move to emerge from her spot buried against Carina. The other couple finally gets up to leave, and the woman winks at Carina while they pass by. Carina can’t believe this is happening. Once they’re out of earshot, Carina tells Maya they’re gone.

“She winked at me,” Carina tells Maya, biting her bottom lip. Maya is absolutely mortified, but Carina thinks it is absolutely hilarious. “They seemed super chill, I don’t think they were bothered at all,” Carina assures her. “For someone who loves public sex, you’re awfully embarrased to get caught,” she adds teasingly. 

“It’s fun to get caught when it’s people I want to get caught by,” Maya mumbles, pressing a soft kiss to Carina’s neck. 

“But isn’t there something kind of thrilling knowing that that stranger saw you get fucked and her reaction was to wink?” Carina questions. Maya finally picks her head up and Carina strokes her bright red cheeks gently. “Take some photos with me and then we can go back.” 

Maya tries to get over her embarrassment and takes some photos in her girlfriend’s arms. She finally feels back to herself once they’re headed back and she takes over map duty and Carina-hydration duty. When they get back from their hike, they take another shower together. But instead of the heat from the morning, they simply take turns washing each other’s hair and bodies. 

“I love you,” Maya whispers softly next to Carina’s ear while she dries off her back. 

“I love you, too,” Carina tells her. They get dressed in their comfortable clothes and sit on their bed to eat their snacks that they brought for dinner. Inevitably, Carina complains about still being hungry, and Maya shuffles through her backup bag of snacks and pulls out Carina’s favorite store-bought wafer cookies.

“You’ve been holding out on me!?” Carina exclaims, taking the box eagerly. 

“More like, waiting for the right moment to surprise you,” Maya replies. Carina opens the box and takes out a cookie. She places the box on the bedside table after offering Maya one. “I have something else in mind for dessert tonight,” Maya adds, licking her bottom lip and looking up at Carina. 

“And what would that be?” Carina teases. Maya pushes her tank top up over her head and cups her breasts gently with one hand while slowly pushing her shorts down. She helps Carina lay back on the bed, her legs hanging off it, while she gets on her knees on the floor. She licks Carina’s thigh and presses a couple of soft kisses to her mound. 

“Look at me,” Maya insists. Carina holds herself up on her elbows and opens her eyes, one hand in Maya’s hair. Maya smiles sweetly at her and then spreads her legs, tucking her face between them and licking her folds gently. 

“I don’t know what I’m going to do when this trip is over and I don’t get to have sex with you every day,” Carina mumbles absentmindedly, stroking Maya’s hair as she starts to work her up with her mouth. Maya revels in how Carina tastes, in how it feels to have her long legs wrapped around her head, in how Carina gets wet as she licks her nice and softly. 

“Move in with me,” Maya mumbles, pulling her mouth away. Carina looks at her questioningly. “When we get back, move in with me.” 

“You’re asking me to move in with you while you’re going down on me? Didn’t you basically tell me you weren’t ready for that like, three days ago?” Carina asks. Maya kisses her stomach and looks up at her lovingly. 

“A lot can change in three days,” Maya says. “I’ve never been more sure about anything as I am about the fact that I don’t want to spend another night without you ever again.” 

Carina melts, unsure if this is real. Maybe it’s just the sexual tension, maybe it’s the magic of vacation, but maybe it’s growth. She’s terrified to let Maya get her hopes up, to give Maya the power to break her again. She doesn’t know what to do or what to say.

“I want that, too,” Carina admits. “But can we talk about this when you don’t have a mouth full of pussy?” 

Maya laughs and nods, before diving back in. Carina falls back on the bed with a groan, her back arching and her hand tightening in Maya’s hair. All of her uncertainty and nerves melt away as Maya sucks on her swollen clit and massages her breasts. 

Maybe it’s the magic of vacation. But maybe, just maybe, Maya is really ready to let her all the way in. She bites her lip and gives into the pleasure, her own feelings bottled up and stuffed so far down that she forgets all about them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully this one is a little more action-packed! let me know what you think about Jack, Andrew, and Maya's spontaneous move in question! is Carina ready to take the next step in letting Maya in? is Maya? are they making mistakes because of the haze of domestic bliss, or is there also some growth happening?
> 
> we are approaching the last few days of the road trip, but i think they'll be fun. LA, Disneyland, and San Diego are still to come before we wrap up! let me know what you're hoping to see in the last few chapters :)


	7. day 7: los angeles, pt. 1

Maya is sleeping relatively peacefully when she's suddenly woken by Carina shaking against her. Maya rolls over and pushes Carina’s hair back behind her ear, seeing her girlfriend shaking and groaning in her sleep. And it’s certainly not a pleasurable groan. 

“Baby, wake up,” Maya whispers, stroking her hair and holding her. Carina wraps her arms around her tight but doesn’t wake up, her shaking starting to turn into sobs. “I’ve got you, Car, it’s okay, it’s just a dream,” she continues. She’s never seen Carina have a nightmare or heard anything about it, so she doesn’t really know what to do. She strokes Carina’s back, her hand sliding under her tank top to touch her bare skin. Carina’s movements become more volatile, and she almost clocks Maya across the face. Maya rolls them over so Carina is below her and holds her arms down.”CARINA,” Maya almost yells. 

That pops Carina into consciousness. She opens her eyes and looks a mix of absolutely terrified and confused, and within seconds, Maya is moving to hold her and Carina is folding into her, wrapping her whole body around Maya’s, pressing her face to her chest. Carina starts crying again, her wet tears soaking Maya’s shirt, which is really Carina’s shirt, and Maya trying to gently rub her back to comfort her.

“I got you, baby, it’s okay,” Maya reminds her. “I love you sweetheart.” 

Carina cries in her arms for what feels like forever. Maya’s arm goes numb and Carina’s hot on top of her. She rotates between stroking her back and her hair and her arms, pressing kisses to the top of her head, talking to her, just letting her cry, and holding her hand. It brings her back to when she was a kid, and Mason would have terrible nightmares. She would sneak out of her bed and into his room and lay there with him until he fell back asleep, and then sneak to her room before her dad would know she was gone.

Eventually, Carina stops crying. Soon after, her breath evens out. Maya grabs her phone and turns off her alarm and Carina’s alarm, moving hers to a later time, deciding that the morning workout can wait until the afternoon, as Carina will need the extra sleep. She presses one last kiss to Carina’s sweaty forehead and then tries to fall back asleep.

But she can’t. She really can’t. Every time she closes her eyes, she’s remembering the nights with Mason. How she thought she was so slick—sneaking in and out of Mason’s room and calming him down before anyone knew. Until the day she walked back into her own room and saw her dad sitting on the bed. Her blood runs cold just thinking about it, and her eyes fly open.

Maya doesn’t dare move, not wanting to disrupt Carina or risk waking her up again. She manages to finally fall into a light sleep, still agitated, her jaw clenching. When the alarm goes off, Maya is absolutely exhausted and her jaw hurts. She turns the alarm off and it takes her a minute to get her jaw to loosen, open and closing her mouth uncomfortably. Carina rolls away from her and curls against her pillow, her eyes still closed. Maya spoons her from behind for a moment, presses a couple of soft kisses to the side of her face, and then finally drags herself out of bed. She packs up their bags and washes up, even picking out an outfit for Carina and leaving hers to the side as well. She then makes just one cup of instant coffee, knowing that they’ll definitely have to stop at a coffee shop on the way, but that this might at least help lure Carina out of bed. She places the coffee on the bedside table and kneels down on the ground next to the bed, pushing Carina’s hair behind her ear.

“Baby we have to get ready,” Maya tells her. “It’s almost 9am.” 

“Sleep,” Carina insists. They have about a five hour drive ahead of them today, and Maya would really like to do something with their day other than drive. But Carina just looks so vulnerable and exhausted, curled up in the bed, and they technically don’t have to be out of the cabin until 10am. Maya begrudgingly sets an alarm for 9:45 and crawls back in bed, spooning Carina. “I love you,” Carina mumbles. Maya kisses her neck gently and wraps her arms tightly around her. 

“I love you too, baby. An hour more of sleep and then we have to leave, for real,” Maya mumbles. Carina gives her a little bit of a smile, rolls over to face her, and curls into her the same way she had all night. Maya grabs her phone and starts catching up on some texts and emails while Carina sleeps on her chest. It’s mostly just Andy and Vic catching her up on station gossip, with the occasional text from her mother. She replies to her mother, telling her she’s on vacation with Carina but they should meet up for coffee once she’s back. And then she starts scrolling through her endless emails, just to make sure there’s nothing important in there. 

Maya catches the clock a couple of minutes before her alarm is set to go off and turns it off. She stares at Carina’s sleeping form for a minute, just thinking about the fact that she never thought it was possible to love another human being this much. Everything about Carina makes Maya’s heart swell. She presses a kiss to her head and laces their fingers together.

“Time to get up, Car,” Maya mumbles. She then wiggles her way out of bed, puts on her clothes, tosses the instant coffee, and hands Carina a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. “I know you’re awake,” Maya adds, raising an eyebrow. Carina then reaches out to take the clothes, eyes still closed, and Maya chuckles at her antics. Carina dresses while she’s in bed, and Maya takes her tank top and shorts and packs them away. Finally, at about 9:53am, Carina drags herself out of bed. She uses the bathroom, brushes her teeth, and then brushes her hair and tosses on Maya’s Converses that she sort-of-stole. 

“Ready?” Maya asks, having already loaded up the car while Carina was getting ready. Maya then surprises Carina by going in for a hug. A real, bone-crushing, tender hug. Carina reciprocates it but doesn’t quite know where it came from. 

“What was that for?” Carina asks, her voice still deep with exhaustion. 

“I love you with every single fiber of my being,” Maya tells her, playing with her hands in her hair. “And I didn’t know I was capable of that kind of love but I am and I want you to know it.” 

Carina strokes Maya’s cheek and presses a soft kiss to her lips. “Of course you’re capable of that, Maya. And I’m just lucky that it’s me you’re in love with. Because I feel the same way about you.” 

Maya smiles, a bit nervous and excited all at once, before locking up the cabin and heading off to drop off the keys. She insists on driving the first shift, bringing them directly to the nearest Starbucks drive thru before they get on the main road. Carina opts for a veni Americano and Maya opts for her typical grande cold brew. Maya also makes sure to buy a few breakfast sandwiches and some scones, as they’re both starving from their lack of a real dinner the night before. Carina helps Maya navigate, but other than that, they’re both mostly silent for the first half-hour or so of the drive, just taking the time to eat something and get caffeinated. Carina eventually pulls out her phone, types something, sends it, and then puts it away. Maya takes that as her cue. 

“How are you feeling?” Maya finally asks Carina, intertwining their fingers over Carina’s thigh.

“Just tired. Emotionally and just, I need sleep,” Carina admits.

“You can sleep, I’m good to drive. Promise,” Maya replies. Carina shakes her head. 

“No, no. I’ll just sleep well tonight,” Carina explains. She places her other hand on top of Maya’s, playing with her fingers. “You were so sweet with me, last night and this morning,” Carina notes. “I really appreciate it.”

“My heart was breaking for you,” Maya admits, trying to pay attention to the road but wanting nothing more than to look in Carina’s eyes. “Do you have nightmares often?”

“Nope,” Carina admits. “I haven’t in a really long time. I think everything going on with Andrea has brought up a lot of my childhood trauma. So I had a dream about some of the bad times with my dad when I was a kid. Just that fear...I felt transported back there, it was so real, Maya,” Carina admits. “When I finally opened my eyes and saw you… the emotional release was just…a lot.” 

Maya squeezes her hand. “I know you said he never put a hand on you, but as we both know… you can traumatize a kid without hurting them physically.”

“Sometimes when he was in his manic episodes, he would yell, scream at me, with no rhyme or reason. I would hide in my closet and cry. It was scary. The things he said to me...they really hurt me. And I was scared of him. Deep down, I knew he wasn’t going to get violent with me, or at least, too violent, but I was just always waiting for something to snap, for him to really lose it on me. I was so trapped and suffocated and overwhelmed.” 

“You deserved to feel safe as a child, and you deserve to feel safe now, and always,” Maya reminds her. She never quite knows what to say when Carina does open up to her, always stumbling over her words in fear of saying the wrong thing. So she sticks with an absolute, simple truth: Carina deserved better. 

“And my dad deserved to live a life without bipolar disorder, and to be able to be the parent that I know, deep down, he could be, because I saw that parent sometimes,” Carina admits. “I struggle to blame him for how he treated me, because he was sick. And he was fighting a… what’s the word? Stigma? So tough that, he just, didn’t feel like he could admit to himself that he was sick. He isn’t a bad person. He was just sick and couldn’t control his anger,” Carina rambles. Maya starts thinking about her dad—about how easy it is to hate him, because she doesn’t know what the root of his behavior is. “So, anyway, I just emailed Kara, and I’m hoping she can squeeze me in sometime in the next couple of days. I need to process what’s going on with her so that I can be present here with you.”

Maya squeezes her thigh gently and then reaches for her coffee to take another sip, before placing her hand back in the same spot.

“That sounds good. I hope she can get you in,” Maya notes. When Maya first started going to therapy, she was kind of jealous of how smooth and strong of a relationship Carina has with Kara, her therapist. She’s still not sure she’s found the right person, and it is difficult not knowing if the connection is just slow to develop or if she should try someone new now and minimize the amount of her life story she will have to tell all over again. 

“Did I keep you up all night?” Carina asks, a bit hesitant. 

“No, not all night,” Maya responds quickly. “I have just been thinking a lot about Mason.” 

“Mason? How so?” Carina questions. She takes another sip of her Americano and reaches for the breakfast sandwich Maya had been eating, taking a bite of it. 

“When he was a kid, he had really bad nightmares. I would wake up to the sound of him crying in the middle of the night, since his room was next to mine and our beds were against the same wall. So I would get up and go into his room to wake him and sit with him until he fell back asleep. At first, I just did it because I was worried my dad would hear him, wake up, and get angry. But I also just...hated seeing him like that. I felt bad for him, like, he was weak and needed his big sister to protect him, which is problematic in its own way, I guess. But one night, my dad heard, and saw that I was in there with him, comforting him. He went into my room and sat on my bed. When I came back into my room...I was terrified, seeing him there. He was so stoic. Told me I was babying him, he was never going to learn to sleep if I kept going in there and treating him like a child, he needs to sleep through the night on his own, grow up and get over the nightmares. Made me run a few more miles the next morning. And,” Maya rambles, trying to find her words, starting to lose her breath, her voice shaking. “And I believed him,” she admits, her voice cracking. “I thought I was helping Mason by letting him… cry and scream with his nightmares on his own. And eventually, he stopped having them. It was only later that I found out that it was because he was self-... self-medicating, and not because he grew out of it.” 

“You really tried to be a good sister, Maya,” Carina assures her. “You wanted to be there for him. To protect him. To comfort him.” 

“But I should’ve known, I mean, I think deep down I did know, that it wasn’t right to let him suffer,” Maya admits, a tear streaming down her face. She finally decides to pull over at a rest stop, needing a few moments to collect her emotions and knowing both of them probably have to use the restroom anyway. Once Maya parks the car, Carina grabs her face between her hands, stroking her cheeks. 

“I want nothing more than to see you rebuild a relationship with Mason,” Carina tells her, before leaning in to kiss her gently. “I love you, and I know that you are not the person who your dad tried to force you to be. I love you for what’s in here,” Carina says, putting her hand on top of Maya’s chest, over her heart. Maya nods, biting her lip. 

“And you are not the person he told you you were,” Maya said. “I don’t have to know what he said or why he said it, but no matter what you did, you did not deserve to be treated that way.” 

Carina smiles a little and they hug again. It’s an unexpectedly emotional day, and they’re both feeling vulnerable. After a quick trip to the bathroom, they get some gas and switch drivers so Carina can drive for a few hours. Maya tosses on a murder mystery podcast, which ends up being a lot of fun and a great distraction. At the rest stop, Maya buys some chocolate covered cashews, and Carina buys sour patch watermelons. 

“These things are disgusting,” Maya comments when Carina asks her to open the package and hand her one. “They’re like diabetes in a bag.” 

“An overly sugary treat every once in a while isn’t the worst thing in the world,” Carina mumbles, taking a watermelon and placing it on her tongue to let the sugar dissolve. “You should try one.”

“No thanks, they look like they’re going to eviscerate my taste buds, and I like to taste you when I eat you out.”

Carina almost chokes at that comment, and Maya smirks when Carina doesn’t ask for another watermelon, instead snacking on Maya’s cashews. They share commentary on the murder mystery, and Maya is a characteristically bad sport when, in the end, she’s wrong about who the murderer was. Carina teases her for a few minutes before pulling off the highway to buy them more drinks and for another bathroom break. Maya orders an iced green tea latte and Carina opts for a chai, and again, they switch drivers with just an hour to go until they’re at their next Airbnb. They debate what to do with the rest of their day—it’s going to be about 3:30pm by the time they get in. Carina gets a text from her therapist saying she can slide her in at the end of the day at 4:15, so that becomes the immediate plan. Maya says that she’ll plan to run to a grocery store and will cook them a nice dinner and they’ll then maybe go for an evening walk together to decompress. They both have to admit that a quiet day sounds like a good plan with everything going on, especially since their last few days are going to be busy—exploring Los Angeles, heading to Disneyland, and then trying to slide in a day in San Diego before a redeye back to Seattle. 

They unload the car when they arrive in LA and get the keys to their Airbnb. Their host is a very kind elderly woman who assumes Maya and Carina are best friends, which is a bit amusing, but they just roll with it. Carina curls up on a chair in the corner of the living room and grabs her headphones, and Maya presses a soft kiss to her forehead. 

“I think I’m going to run to the grocery store, that way I don’t have to deal with traffic and I can get a run in. I need to get my body moving, to release the day,” Maya explains. “And then I’m thinking about just doing something easy and making chicken parmesan?” Maya proposes. Carina lights up at the idea and readily agrees, so Maya heads off to change into her running clothes and leaves Carina to her therapy appointment. 

Maya absolutely loves running in new places. The grocery store is actually quite close, so she plans her route to end there and plans to get in about five miles. She’s grateful for the long summer days that will keep the sun out and shining. The weather is so much better than Seattle’s, and it’s the perfect summer afternoon for running. With each step, she feels the heaviness of the day rolling off of her. She forces herself to slow down and run the first few miles a little slower than she normally would, and then just lets it all go the last mile, pushing forward and hard. She’s been trying to make running about connecting with herself, about feeling peace and grace and one with the world outside, and sometimes, she feels that. It’s hard work to not let running be about how fast she’s going. She’s learning to adapt to leaving the tracker behind and not timing her runs, because it doesn’t matter. She’s running for herself, not for competition. 

Maya finally finds herself at the grocery store and walks through the parking lot, recovering from her run. She stops and does a few stretches outside and texts Carina to let her know she’s there. Carina will likely still be in her therapy session, and she’s sharing her location with Carina anyway, but she knows Carina likes the reassurance, especially when Maya is running in a new place. Maya grabs some chicken breasts, marinara sauce, mozzarella, and then some ingredients to make a salad. And, of course, a few healthy snacks that Carina will make commentary about before actually eating and enjoying, because that’s how Carina is. She goes through self-checkout, gets visually shamed by everyone standing around her for having to pay for a couple of bags because she didn’t bring reusable grocery bags on her vacation, and then heads off. She listens to some music on the walk back, checking with Google Maps to make sure she isn’t going to get lost. She finally finds her way back to the house and sees Carina sipping a hot chocolate on the couch, watching The Good Place. 

“How was therapy?” Maya asks, unloading the bags. 

“It was good,” Carina says. “But I’m done with emotions for today,” she insists. Maya laughs and agrees with her, leaning in for a quick kiss. “You shower,” Carina adds. “I’ll start on dinner.” 

Maya takes a quick shower, washing off the sweat and dirt from her run and the emotions of the day as well. She tosses on a pair of joggers and a cutoff and wanders into the kitchen, where Carina is already done putting the chicken breasts into the oven and tossing the salad. 

“Everything you got looks great, bella,” Carina compliments. She walks over to Maya and presses her against the kitchen island, leaning in and taking in the scent of her shampoo and bodywash. “You smell so good.” 

Maya chuckles and strokes Carina’s back. “Do you want to put comfier clothes on? I can finish the salad,” Maya volunteers, leaning in for a kiss. Carina surprises her by sneaking her hands up her shirt to cup her bare breasts. 

“You going to tease me all night with this cutoff without a bra?” Carina asks, biting her lip gently. Maya just nods as Carina massages her breasts gently. “Such a tease,” Carina taunts, before kissing her once more and pulling away. She changes into her pajamas while Maya finishes up with dinner and flips the chicken. They finally settle on the couch with their dinner, breaking their usual rule of no meals on the couch because there wasn’t another great dining space option. After dinner, Maya sits between Carina’s legs and they put on a classic movie favorite: the Wizard of Oz. 

“Our dog is going to be so cute,” Maya muses upon seeing Toto. Carina wraps her arms around Maya and kisses her shoulder. 

“When we live together, and have a dog, and cook together all the time,” Carina notes, drawing circles on her thigh over her joggers. 

“I’m mostly excited about the dog,” Maya teases, before turning her head and capturing Carina’s head in a quick kiss. “I can’t imagine going home and being alone, after these ten days with you. I feel like we have grown more in our relationship in the past week than we had in the months before that.” 

“I agree,” Carina admits. Sometimes it can be a little much, being around each other constantly, feeling each other’s every emotion and frustration and desire. But the thing is, once they’re both back to work, they’ll be desperate for any and all time together, and living together just makes sense. 

“But we need two bedrooms,” Maya admits. “In case we have guests.”

“Are you asking me to move in with you?” Carina teases, knowing her place only has one bedroom and Maya’s has two. 

“No, I think we should pick a place together,” Maya explains. “I don’t want it to be you moving into my apartment, I want it to be us moving into an apartment together, that is both of ours, that we picked out together, that is dog-friendly, maybe near the park for the dog.”

“I feel like we should maybe have a dog before we sign a lease based on what apartment is best for the dog,” Carina muses, and Maya rolls her eyes playfully and pinches her bare leg. 

“I’ll take that as an invitation to start looking on shelter websites,” Maya says, a huge smirk on her face. Carina knows she won’t be able to tear Maya away from those websites now until they actually have a dog, but seeing Maya with their dog in the end will be more than worth it. 

They try to lay back and enjoy the movie and each other, taking the time to relax and reflect. Carina’s hands roam Maya’s body, sliding up under her cutoff and massaging her stomach gently. She touches softly and mindlessly, feeling the faint outline of her abdominal muscles and tracing them with her pointer finger. She slides one of her hands up and rests it on her bare breast, feeling her soft skin. 

“You’re so soft,” Carina mumbles, pressing a soft kiss to Maya’s face. Maya closes her eyes, content with Carina’s wandering hands. Her hand rests on Carina’s bare knee, drawing circles on it with her finger. 

Eventually, it starts to feel a little warmer in the room, with Carina still holding her chest and drawing patterns on her stomach. Maya rests her head on Carina’s shoulder and leans over to kiss her neck gently. Carina starts to feel Maya’s nipple harden under her palm, and playfully massages her boob before switching hands, massaging the other while still stroking her stomach. 

“Should I stop?” Carina asks, not sure if she’s crossed a line from relaxing to sexual. 

“No,” Maya replies. “You feel good.”

Carina continues caressing her soft skin throughout the rest of the movie, Maya’s small, pink nipples slowly hardening to a peak and her breath slowly getting heavier with her arousal. Carina runs her hands all across Maya’s hips and the undersides of her breasts and down across the hem of her joggers. Maya eventually tugs her cutoff up and off of her skin, feeling hot and constricted by the fabric. Carina gently squeezes her bare breasts with both hands, nipples hard against her palms, and Maya’s center throbs. 

“Car,” Maya mumbles, her voice low like it gets when she’s really aroused. Carina’s breath picks up as she realizes how primed Maya is. 

“Do you want me to touch you?” Carina asks, toying with the hem of her sweatpants. 

“Need you,” Maya gasps next to her ear. Carina slides a hand into Maya’s joggers, cupping her over her black lace panties. 

“Oh,” Carina mumbles, her brain slowing down and her own center starting to throb. “You’re soaked,” she adds. She can feel Maya’s arousal soaked through the thin fabric of Maya’s sexiest pair of lace panties. She gently runs her fingers across her over her panties, feeling the fabric dip between her lips and feeling where her arousal is dripping out from her entrance. “All this for me?” 

“Always,” Maya whispers, a little whine escaping from her lips. Carina starts to lazily rub circles on her clit over the fabric with two fingers, barely using any pressure. She’s enjoying just touching Maya and making her feel good, and is in absolutely no rush to make her cum. 

“I want to show you just how much I appreciate you,” Carina whispers, kissing her neck gently. 

“What I would appreciate,” Maya starts, her voice a little shaky and her hips canting upward, “is your hand on me.” 

Carina chuckles and keeps lining her girlfriend’s neck with soft kisses, Maya squirming and starting to press her nails into Carina’s thigh almost uncomfortably. Carina finally tugs Maya’s panties down a little and slides her hand inside them to touch her bare skin. Maya lets out a loud, low moan and her hips jump up when Carina feels her wetness. 

“Oh bambina, so wet,” Carina mumbles. She takes her fingers away for a moment, leaving Maya whining in protest, and brings them up to her mouth so she can taste her. Maya then tugs her chin until she can kiss Carina, their heads both tilted awkwardly before letting go. Maya re-settles herself against Carina, spreading her legs as wide as she can and putting Carina’s hand back inside her joggers. 

Carina, much to Maya’s dismay, continues her torturously slow exploration of her soaked folds, spreading around her arousal before rubbing her clit in little circles, varying the pressure. She slowly starts to use a little more pressure consistently, making Maya moan and whine for her. Maya starts to play with her own nipples with one hand as she grounds herself on Carina’s thigh with the other. She pinches one and then tugs it before moving to the other. Carina watches her, always loving to see how Maya brings herself pleasure. 

“Carina, I’m almost there already,” Maya admits, her hips canting again as she pants in Carina’s ear. Carina rubs a little harder on her clit, and changes her circle movement to back-and-forth, and the picking up the speed. “Ohhhh yes,” Maya adds, her head dipping back and another loud moan falling from her lips. After another minute of Carina frantically rubbing her clit, Maya’s mouth falls open and she finally cums in Carina’s arms. Carina dips her fingers inside her pulsing entrance to gather up all of her wetness her pussy gushes for her and Maya lets out a visceral moan as she shakes a little. Carina presses a kiss to her neck sweetly and holds her around her hips with her free hand, keeping her from sliding right off the couch. 

“My good girl,” Carina mumbles, pressing one more kiss to her neck as Maya slowly relaxes into her and starts to catch her breath. Carina slides her hand out of Maya’s pants and sucks on her fingers greedily, moaning at the taste. Maya lays against her for a few minutes, coming back to the present. Then, surprising Carina, Maya drags herself up off the couch, pulls her pants and underwear off to stand naked in front of her, and then picks her girlfriend up, bridal style, and carries her into the bedroom. 

“Oh, okay, you show-off,” Carina chides. She may make jokes about it, but few things get her hot like Maya picking her up and carrying her to bed. Maya carefully places Carina down in the bed, grabs a couple of towels to put under her, and then climbs on and starts to pull Carina’s clothes off frantically. “Someone’s eager,” Carina adds, a smirk on her face. 

“You get that smirk off your face or I’m tying you up,” Maya tells her, her dominant streak coming out to play. Carina brings two fingers up to her lips and does the zipping her mouth shut motion, her eyes still smirking. Maya leans down to kiss Carina and then straddles her hips, pressing their bare bodies together. The kiss is electric—Maya loving tasting and exploring her girlfriend’s mouth with her tongue, feeling them move in sync, their noses brushing, their lips swelling as they pressed them together over and over. Carina takes control of the kiss and Maya lets her guide them, losing herself and her mind going hazy, her hands cupping Carina’s cheek and holding her hip. They kiss until Maya feels herself losing her breath and pulls back to regain her senses, sitting up a bit. Carina just watches Maya, eyes closed, sitting on top of her. Her lips are bright red and swollen and her chest moves up and down with her heavy breathing. Maya leans in to start kissing Carina’s neck, stopping to suck and bite down in a few places, rolling her tongue over the hickeys she’s already left on her neck over the course of the past week. 

“Hm, you taste so good,” Maya mumbles, licking her neck and down across her collarbones. 

“We are using the same body wash,” Carina jokes, trying to string together sentences while Maya slowly works her way down her body. 

“You have a uniquely ‘you’ taste,” Maya insists. She kisses between her breasts and then moves to suck on a nipple. “I could suck your nipples all day,” she adds. She gives them each more than their fair share of time and attention, licking, sucking, grazing her teeth on them. She rolls her tongue over each of them, blows on them, and loves on them until Carina is practically growling with excitement and her chest is arched high off the bed. When she finally pulls away with one last sweet kiss to each of them, they’re standing erect and swollen and blushed deep red from all of Maya’s attention. “We have a special relationship, me and these nipples,” Maya mumbles. “They’re so pretty.” 

Carina chuckles and brings her hands to Maya’s hair, stroking it gently and tugging on it a little. Maya looks up, challenging her with her eyes, and Carina just arches and tugs a little more. 

“Maya, I’m desperate,” Carina admits, her hips bucking up, eager for some kind of friction. Her pussy is throbbing so much that it’s deeply uncomfortable, and with each little lick or bite of her nipples, Carina could feel herself getting more and more wet. Maya starts to lick across her stomach and kiss over the curve of it gently, absolutely loving everything about Carina’s body. 

“Am I going to find a puddle?” Maya asks, tilting her head and biting her lip. She rests her chin on Carina’s lower stomach, and Carina can barely handle the visual. 

“See for yourself,” Carina mumbles. Maya spreads Carina’s thighs and kisses down her mound, seeing the little puddle of arousal on the towel from Carina’s pussy. She kisses her mound before hooking her thighs over her shoulders. 

“You’re so good and ready,” Maya tells her, turning her own compliment on her right before licking through her folds. Maya loses herself in Carina—her smell, her taste, the wetness that coats her mouth and face as she licks her. It’s both tender and sweet and a little feral all at once. Carina is tugging her hair and moaning and squeezing her thighs around her neck. And Maya is dipping her tongue inside her, spreading her arousal around, sucking on her lips, circling her clit gently, and licking her with pure lust and adoration. She loves the way her girlfriend tastes and the feeling of being trapped between her legs with a hand in her hair, Carina eager for her to pleasure her.

Carina has been wet since Maya first moaned in her ear on the couch, and her body is like a live wire. “Oh Maya,” Carina whines. She groans and her thighs squeeze harder around Maya’s neck as she gets closer. Her feet dig into Maya’s back but Maya is only focused on pleasuring Carina. She’s had many more opportunities to eat Carina out this week than she does in a normal week, and she’s taking full advantage of it. Carina starts rambling something in Italian, and Maya can recognize it vaguely as something she usually says when she’s starting to get close. She starts to roll her tongue over her clit and then places firm licks on it, intermittently sucking on it for a second just to tease her. 

“Maya,” Carina growls right before her hips fly off the bed. Maya holds her steady and grazes her teeth on her clit gently, setting off Carina’s orgasm. Carina’s head presses into the pillow and she feels the ripples of pleasure run through her body. Maya feels Carina’s wetness spill out on her face and her thighs shake on her shoulders and she licks her through it, wanting to taste every last bit of Carina’s arousal. Carina’s body slumps back on the bed and she lets out a loud breath as she comes down, Maya still cleaning her up. Carina’s legs fall off Maya’s shoulders and she eventually has to tug Maya’s hair and tell her she needs a break.

“Sorry,” Maya mumbles, emerging from between Carina’s legs, her face wet and eyes dark. Carina helps her up, Maya licking up Carina’s body and then Carina opening her mouth so Maya can slide her tongue inside. They make out for a long while, both exhausted and trying to calm their bodies down, but loving to feel and taste each other. Both of them want to go again, but they’re both exhausted, mind and body, and know that they want to get a good night of sleep so that they can explore LA the next day.

Maya eventually breaks the kiss and rolls off of Carina. She washes up and puts on one of Carina’s oversized shirts before tugging the towels off the bed and putting them in the washer. She grabs some waters for them and while she’s in the kitchen, Carina begrudgingly gets up and washes up as well. 

“Where’s your black and white flannel?” Carina calls, rummaging through Maya’s bag. 

“You’re going to get all hot and sweaty if you sleep in that,” Maya replies, walking back into the bedroom. She hands Carina a water bottle and raises an eyebrow. 

“But I like it,” Carina insists. Maya rolls her eyes and pulls it out of the suitcase, handing it to Carina. She then lowers the air conditioning temperature by a few more degrees, knowing that both of them like to sleep on the colder side. They finally curl into bed together, Maya letting out a happy sigh when Carina runs her hands through her hair. 

“Do you think you’re going to sleep tonight?” Maya asks, before kissing the red spots on Carina’s collarbone. Carina shrugs. 

“I hope so.” 

“Ok. Well, if you’re not sleeping, or you aren’t feeling great, wake me up and I’ll lay here with you,” Maya promises. “I want to be here. I love you.” 

Carina chuckles a little and kisses Maya’s hair. She knows there’s no way she would wake Maya up unless she felt really terrible, but she appreciates that Maya is willing to be woken up. “I love you, too, bella,” Carina replies. “Let me hold you.” 

Maya curls up into Carina’s chest, and Carina rolls onto her back, wrapping her arms securely around her girlfriend and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Here, with Maya, she has everything she could ever want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> merry christmas to those who celebrate! i hope everyone has a safe holiday season. and for those of you who aren't feeling the holiday joy this year—i hope that maybe this chapter could help you forget about that heaviness for a few minutes. 
> 
> thank you for reading this extra-long chapter! i was worried that since i had basically no fun vacation activities planned for this day, that this chapter would be a dud. but, it looks like it came out more robust than most of them have! i hope you enjoyed the emotional aspects of it, the softness between Maya and Carina, and the sweeter sexy times.


	8. day 8: los angeles, part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am so sorry for the delay, but i hope that this 7400 word chapter makes up for it! i was really hoping to get it out yesterday for Valentine's Day, but it just got away from me length-wise...so happy belated Valentine's Day!
> 
> tw for brief mention of suicidal ideation about halfway through (similarly to the cloud scene). and in the same part of the chapter, spoiler warning for the book The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Maya is very, very soft for Carina. She finally admits it to herself as she’s going on a morning jog to an Italian bakery and coffee shop she saw on her run the day before. It’s only about a mile away, but she wears her running clothes for the jog there so that she can at least feel like she got a little bit of running in—a recovery run of sorts. Once there, she picks up a few Italian espressos as well as a few of Carina’s favorite pastries from the bakery section. She purposefully decided not to tell Carina about the bakery, and instead bring it to her as a good morning surprise to lift her mood after a rough last day or so. On her walk back, she checks her texts and sees Andy texting her about something that happened to Dean’s boots. 

_just get him another pair of boots from storage and i’ll deal with it when i get back_ , Maya texts back with a quick eye-roll. She is grateful that Andy is holding down the fort at the station, but she really doesn’t have to update Maya about every little thing that happens. She can definitely be a bit of a control freak, but Andy should know that she does not care what boots Dean is wearing as long as they meet regulation. 

_none in storage_ , Andy replies.

Maya rolls her eyes. _okay, if you really can’t find him boots put him on desk duty. please use your own brain i am on vacation._

With that, Maya silences her phone and has a silent walk back to their Airbnb. She knows Carina is likely still sleeping, and finds herself thinking about how warm and cuddly it will be to slide back into bed and wrap her arms around her. 

Once inside, Maya leaves the pastries on the island in the kitchen and wanders into the bedroom. She takes off her clothes and puts the espresso cups down on the bedside table before sliding in next to Carina. She spoons her from behind, pushing her hair out of her way and pressing a soft kiss to her neck. 

“I know you’re awake,” Maya mumbles, before kissing the shell of her ear gently. 

“No I’m not,” Carina grumbles, her eyes still closed. Maya chuckles and intertwines their fingers.

“I brought Italian espresso and pastries for you,” Maya tries, before nipping at her neck playfully. Carina’s eyes open and she turns her head a little to look at Maya.

“You did?” Carina asks, confused. She rolls over in Maya’s arms and rests her head on the top of Maya’s breast. Maya absentmindedly starts running her hand through Carina’s hair.

“I did,” Maya replies, a small smile forming on her lips. “I saw something that looked vaguely like an Italian bakery on my run yesterday, did some research, and figured I’d surprise you this morning.” She’s pretty proud of herself, and Carina can tell by the way Maya’s lips curl into a bigger smile and she then bites down on her bottom one to keep it contained. 

“My bella, grazie,” Carina replies, pressing a kiss to the soft skin of Maya’s chest and then leaning up for a quick kiss on the lips. Maya pulls them both up into a sitting position and hands Carina her espresso. 

“Drink before it gets cold,” she instructs, still holding Carina’s hand. After Carina has a shot of espresso in her, she gets up and brushes her teeth and washes up while Maya grabs the pastries and brings them back to bed. 

“I can’t believe I have turned Maya Bishop into a ‘breakfast in bed’ girl,” Carina smirks, grabbing a biscotti out of the bag. 

“Well, it is vacation, and it’s so comfortable…” Maya mumbles, half-heartedly. Carina and her split some of the pastries, Carina happy to see Maya enjoying a chocolate croissant at breakfast time. They eat in relative silence, Maya accidentally getting some chocolate on Carina’s arm and licking it off playfully. Maya all but drags Carina into the shower with her, and drapes her body across her girlfriend’s. 

“I thought we were going hiking and needed to do it before it got too hot…” Carina mumbles, feeling Maya’s bare body press against her own. Maya places a soft kiss on the side of her neck and lets her hands roam her back.

“I just want to hold you for a minute,” Maya replies. Showering with Carina is one of her favorite activities—the intimacy of the moment when they have time to slow down and enjoy it is everything. “Are you feeling okay today?” Maya questions. It’s not really natural to her—openly communicating emotions and checking in with someone—but she’s trying her best.

“Yeah,” Carina says. She’s feeling a bit cold because the water is falling on Maya’s back, so she slowly turns them and Maya chuckles, them both stepping awkwardly to turn around without breaking the hug. “I feel like this trip has been good for me, and good for us. I have a lot more clarity on how I’m feeling about Andrea after yesterday, and am sitting with it, and feeling lucky to have you.” 

Maya smiles up at her, a little shy, and presses a soft kiss to her mouth. “And it’s not a hike. It’s an upward stroll. To the Hollywood sign. Classic tourist attraction.”

“It’s a hike,” Carina insists. They finally break the hug and fall into their seamless shower routine, taking turns with the shampoo and under the rinse. 

“It’s like two miles. We are literally doing the path they suggest for children.” 

“And I have the hiking experience of the average child…” 

“Not after this past week!” Maya insists, a big smile breaking out across her face. “I promise it’ll be easy, and then I will carry your bags for you while you shop all afternoon.”

“You act like you aren’t going to shop,” Carina teases.

“I don’t think they’ll have flannels, or jeans that fit my ass.”

Carina laughs, taking a step closer to Maya as they reverse positions again and running her hand across Maya’s ass playfully. “I’ll find a few things for you to try on.”

“No dresses.”

Carina raises her eyebrows and bites her bottom lip with a little shrug. Maya glares at her playfully, gently jabbing her stomach with the body wash to hand it over. “Okay, okay, no dresses.” 

They drive to the easiest place to start the hike to the Hollywood sign from, based on their research. Carina even has to admit that it’s an easy stroll, so when Maya turns back to ask if she needs a water break just 20 minutes into the walk Carina has to laugh and punch her shoulder playfully. 

“You’re insufferable,” Carina insists. Maya’s hands find her hips and she pulls her in for a quick kiss. 

“I’m just looking out for my girl,” Maya replies, a smirk on her face. She cups Carina’s cheek and steals one more kiss before taking her hand in her own. They walk the rest of the way there and then Carina goes into picture mode. After insisting Maya join her for a picture and then making Maya play photographer, Maya finally puts Carina’s phone back in her jeans pocket for her and makes her take in the sight. 

“You know, I kind of thought it would be more grand,” Carina admits. Maya laughs in agreement.

“Yeah, not sure it was worth the time on our only day in LA.” 

Carina shrugs. “No wasted time when I’m with you,” she quips, squeezing her hand again. Maya drops her hand and moves to stand in front of her so Carina can wrap her arms around her waist, her head falling back onto Carina’s shoulder. “We should get moving,” Carina whispers, pressing a soft kiss to Maya’s neck. 

“The clothes aren’t going anywhere,” Maya grumbles, enjoying standing out in the sun looking at the view, her girlfriend’s arms firm around her waist.

“But the sun is, eventually, and I know you wanted to have some time at the beach before dinner…” Carina trails. Maya rolls her eyes and turns in her arms, kissing her cheek and then pulling away so they can head back to the car. 

They walk back in relative silence, and then make the drive over to Beverly Hills to go shopping like a proper tourist. Maya does a lot of complaining about the drive, the traffic, and the parking situation, but Carina ignores it, simply noting to Maya that they have to grab some lunch before they get into shopping. 

“I don’t feel hungry,” Maya insists. Carina laughs, putting her hand on Maya’s thigh in the car.

“I know you better than you know yourself. You don’t feel hungry because you’re getting your period soon but I know you’re hungry because you’re being a grump all of a sudden.” 

Maya parks the car and scrunches up her face in confusion. Carina waits and watches her, visually observing the thought process. 

“You’re probably right,” Maya eventually concludes. “But I’m not a grump, LA is just the worst city to drive ever and just for that remark, you can drive us to Santa Monica later.” 

Carina chuckles and they get out of the car, following Google maps to a nearby cafe. They sit for a few minutes to eat their sandwiches and get caught up in a conversation about Gen Z fashion trends. Carina absolutely hates some of them, but insists on defending the bootleg and oversized jeans trend. 

“I’ve literally never seen you in any jeans other than skinny jeans,” Maya insists. Carina laughs.

“Okay, I’ll try some on for you and you can see that they look good,” Carina replies with a smile.

“Maybe on you! I would look like a short blob.” 

“You’re not short, and you don’t look like a blob,” Carina insists, rolling her eyes at Maya’s antics. 

“I do in bootleg jeans. Trust me. I wore them in high school when they were cool.” 

“Now that’s a picture I’d like to see,” Carina teases. 

“Oh, absolutely never,” Maya retorts. 

They finally head off to the shops afterwards, Carina leading the way. Maya can’t help but melt at how excited Carina is, telling her all about her favorite places to shop across the world. Maya knows that this trip won’t even come close to some of Carina’s best shopping atmospheres, but it’s certainly better than what she’s getting in Seattle. 

Maya helps Carina pick out outfits to try on, taking on the role of the supportive girlfriend. Carina eventually stands in front of her in a short black dress that looks absolutely divine on her and asks her if it’s too short.

“No,” Maya answers, far too quickly. “Not at all. Your legs look so good.” 

Carina laughs. “Okay, but imagine me wearing this dress out where men can see me.” 

Maya shrugs. “You look good. Men like to stare at you because you’re hot, but you’re mine, and I’m not going to tell you to dress less sexy because of men. If you like it, get it, you look amazing.”

Carina still decides she thinks it’s too short, next trying on a button down blouse and laughing at Maya’s reaction. 

“You should take me shopping more often,” Maya mumbles. Carina smirks at how Maya has been staring at her ever since she started trying new outfits on. 

“But you’re not very helpful. I don’t think you have said one negative thing about anything I’ve tried on. I can’t buy it all.” 

“It’s not my fault you look good in everything,” Maya shrugs, taking a step closer and kissing her. Carina ends up not buying anything at the first few stores, feeling too indecisive. She then finally finds a pair of trendy jeans and pulls them in both her size and Maya’s size. 

“Oh no, absolutely not,” Maya insists when Carina tries to hand her the jeans in the dressing room. 

“You said no dresses, this is not a dress. Please?” Carina asks. Maya wants to fight her, but the pleading look in Carina’s eyes always breaks her. So she grumbles in agreement and tries on the jeans. 

“You look so good in these hideous jeans, that should be illegal,” Maya insists. Carina’s hands find Maya’s ass, her hands sliding into the back pockets and her squeezing gently. 

“Your ass looks so good,” Carina tells her, with a soft kiss to her neck. 

“Oh no, no no, no,” Maya mumbles, already in a little bit of a haze of arousal. “I look terrible in these, there is no way you actually think I look good.” 

Carina chuckles. “You’re right that they make you look shorter, but you do not look like a blob. You look sexy,” Carina whispers, before pressing a soft kiss to Maya’s ear. Maya has to stop herself from actively whimpering and step away before things get too out of hand.

Maya ends up buying Carina the jeans, and Carina only. 

After a few more stores and a few more purchases for Carina, they grab another coffee and head to the car to head back to their Airbnb. It’s a quick stop, just to change into dinner-appropriate clothes and sandals, and then they’re off to Santa Monica. It’s about 4pm by the time they get there, and they’re hoping to get a little bit of beach time and time at the pier in before their 6pm dinner reservation. 

“I want to go on the ferris wheel after dinner, when it’s dark,” Maya insists. Carina finally finds some parking after what she has to admit is a bit of a frustrating drive, and Maya takes her hand when they get out of the car. “Can we maybe just walk on the beach for a little?” 

“Yeah, sounds perfect to me,” Carina replies, pressing a soft kiss to Maya’s forehead. Carina is noticing that Maya is becoming even more soft and tender with her in public as the trip is going on, and wonders how much of that is the intimacy of being together outside of one of their workplaces and how much of it is growth in their relationship. She doesn’t totally know where it’s coming from, but she’s just happy to bear witness to this more loving, more free Maya. They both carry their sandals in their free hands while they walk down the beach together, feeling the afternoon sun on their skin.

“Do you need sunscreen?” Carina questions. Maya had opted to wear white jeans and a sleeveless black button down blouse, and Carina looks curiously at the edges of Maya’s bare shoulders. “I have some in my bag.” 

They take a quick detour to put a little bit of sunscreen on both of them, Maya getting far too much enjoyment out of rubbing Carina’s back where her sundress is open. After, they just walk aimlessly, hand in hand, in relative silence. Carina listens to the water and focuses on the feeling of Maya’s hand in her own, Maya’s thumb grazing her palm gently. 

“Have you ever read _The Awakening_?” Maya asks. Carina shakes her head no, and Maya squeezes her hand gently. “It ends with a woman walking out into the ocean until she drowns.” 

“Oh,” Carina says, a bit surprised that this is the direction the conversation is going. “Was it a good book?”

“I loved it personally, yeah. It’s a lot about the constraints of gender roles, with womanhood and parenthood...and not belonging in the box you were put in. For me. I remember all of the kids in my high school English class were up in arms because the main character left her kids and her husband. They couldn’t fathom that it would be possible for a woman to put herself or her needs first. Now, looking back, that feels so twisted. Sure, that is a lot to inflict on a child, but have they considered that maybe the kids would have been better without a mom than with a mom who hated her life and didn’t want to be there? And why is she forced to put her kids first, but men aren’t? I wish I had been able to articulate my feelings about it more effectively at the time.” 

“That sounds like an important conversation, for sure,” Carina replies carefully. “Did the water make you think of it?”

“I used to fantasize about dying, as you know,” Maya says. “It was the clouds thing for me mostly, but the fact that she walked into the ocean at the end was probably why I loved and romanticized the book so much at the time. Now, I feel like I see it with a totally different lens. I understand her struggle and the messages about our society that the themes of the book are sending. But I don’t feel envious of her anymore. Instead, I sit with the tragedy that was the loss of her life at society’s hands.” 

Carina squeezes Maya’s hand. “I, um, used to fantasize about running away. I’d sit in my closet thinking about how I’d walk to the airport and take a flight to America and be with my mom and Andrea and everything would be okay. My mom would welcome me with open arms and tell me how much she regretted leaving me behind.” 

“I can’t imagine how it felt to have your mother take Andrea and not you.”

“I understand why she did what she did, and I miss her more than anything, but I don’t think I will ever forgive her. She shattered my heart and put me in a violent, dangerous situation alone that I did not need to be in.” 

“I wish we knew each other then. Maybe that’s weird, but I just wish I could hold teenage Carina and tell her that she’s loved and more special than she knows and she’s going to be okay,” Maya replies. She stops and turns to Carina, and drops her shoes to the ground so she can push a piece of hair behind Carina’s ear while holding her hand. 

“I do, too. Teenage Maya needed to know that her existence has value regardless of her athletic or other capabilities and that what matters is that she lives her life as authentically and happily as possible,” Carina tells her. “Mi bambina, dame un bacio.” 

Maya smiles softly and presses their foreheads together for a moment before stealing a soft kiss. The rest of their walk is peaceful, and then they head back towards the restaurant. It’s one of the only sit down dinners that they have planned for the trip, knowing that most of it would be about being outside and seeing new places. But Carina had insisted when they put the itinerary together that they have at least one decent meal at a restaurant of Maya’s choosing, so long as it was not Italian food. Carina had enough inauthentic and bland Italian food in her day.

Maya chose an upscale taco place with outdoor seating and a view of the ocean. Carina ends up thoroughly happy with her girlfriend’s choice. She’s not a big fan of margaritas herself, so she tells Maya to have whatever she wants alcohol-wise, with the plan that they’ll be Ubering to go out later anyway and Carina can catch up after the driving is over for the day. Maya orders a funky flavor margarita and Carina’s decision to let Maya do the drinking is confirmed when Maya thoroughly enjoys it and Carina thinks it tastes disgusting. They order lots of food, from chips and dips to endless tacos, until the sun has long gone down and Maya grows excited for her ferris wheel ride. They close at 8pm, so Carina makes sure they get out of the restaurant with enough time to go on the ride without being that person who shows up to ride the ferris wheel at 7:55.

“I have a confession,” Carina admits as they walk down the pier. “I’ve never been on a ferris wheel.” 

“Really?!” Maya exclaims, excited. “Oh this is going to be amazing, I get to be here for your first ferris wheel,” Maya adds. Carina watches the childlike amazement in Maya’s eyes with a quiet amusement. 

“It’s not like, scary, right?” Carina asks. Maya laughs.

“No, no, not at all. I promise. It’s high but it’s not fast and it doesn’t like drop you or anything. It’s sweet and romantic.” 

Carina is doubtful, but once they’re both locked into their car and heading up the ferris wheel, she relaxes into her girlfriend’s embrace. She looks out over the ocean and over the city, her thigh pressed against Maya’s and her arm around her waist. 

“This is...magical,” Carina mumbles. Maya looks over at her girlfriend and presses a soft kiss to her cheek. 

“You are magical.” 

Carina’s first instinct is to make a joke about how that is definitely the cheesiest thing to ever come out of Maya Bishop’s mouth, but she stops herself. She doesn’t want to ruin the moment. Instead, she squeezes Maya’s knee gently and rests her head on her shoulder, still taking in the view. They go around a few times before the ride stops, and Maya’s heart melts a little when she hears Carina audibly sigh as they get up. 

They take one last stroll down the beach, share a soft kiss under the moonlight, and head back to the car. Carina drives them back to their place for the day for yet another outfit change. Maya ends up with her trusty black jeans and a black crop top with thin straps. She adjusts it about fifty times in the mirror while doing her makeup, feeling awkward about the fact that the top of her cleavage is visible.

“Will you stop playing with that?” Carina grumbles. “It looks fine.” 

“My boobs are kind of...out.” 

“You look hot. It’s okay that we can see the tops of your boobs.” 

Maya sighs and fixes it one more time before finishing up her makeup. “If it’s really making you uncomfortable just put something else on,” Carina adds, not wanting to see Maya complain about and pull at her top all evening. Maya looks longingly over at her girlfriend, who is wearing the same black dress she wore to dinner, but without anything under it and a light sweater over it, her bra thrown on top of the suitcase. Maya then throws a leather jacket over her top and watches Carina take over the mirror to add a bit to her makeup as well. 

“It’s better with the jacket,” Maya decides. When she goes to grab her phone out of the charger, she sees a handful of Instagram messages from one of her college teammates she hasn’t spoken to in years, Kara. Maya opens the messages and sees that they’re replies to her story of them at the beach in Santa Monica, saying that she lives in LA now and would love to meet up at a bar. Maya consults with Carina, and they decide that since they don’t know anything about the LA bar scene and were about to go in blind, they might as well. Maya warns Carina that she might hear some things that are very pre-therapy Maya, and Carina strongly assures her that nothing her college teammate has to say can scare her away at this point. 

“Also, like, she was fine when we were in college, but we might hate her now,” Maya adds. Carina laughs, again promising Maya that whatever it’s like, they’ll be in it together. 

They order an Uber and Maya holds Carina, pressing a few kisses to her shoulder, pushing her shirt off of it. Carina leans her head back and both of them start to question their decision to go out. But, before either of them can vocalize it, their driver arrives. 

Maya and Carina start with shots, knowing that they both need to be at least a little tipsy to willingly encounter Maya’s sort-of-friend. Maya absolutely hates dancing, but after three shots of whiskey taken in quick succession, Carina convinces her to join her on the dance floor—very little actual dancing involved. Maya grinds her ass against Carina’s crotch as they sway to the beat and Carina presses a few choice kisses to the sensitive spots on Maya’s neck that leave her reeling. The alcohol, the darkness, the loud music, the feel of her girlfriend’s mouth on her neck, it’s all getting her very worked up.

And then she spots Kara, quickly approaching her, a tall, generic-looking yet handsome white man wrapped around her. 

“MAYA!” She calls over the music. Maya puts a smile on her face and leads Carina over to her. They hug, a gesture Maya only extends because she’s drunk, and then dance for a while in proximity to each other, someone occasionally going to grab another round of drinks for them. After a while at that bar, they decide to split an Uber and head to another bar of Kara’s choosing. The conversation in the Uber is a bit awkward, Kara telling Maya all about her marketing job and how she has run three marathons in the past year, and Maya leaning into Carina, both too tired and too drunk to care. The conversation picks up once her husband, Matt, explains that he’s a general surgeon. Carina and him get into a conversation about medicine, and although Carina thinks he sounds kind of like a douche, she’s happy to keep the conversation flowing and the pressure off Maya, who is half asleep on her shoulder already. Carina kisses her head to nudge her awake when they get to the next bar, and when Matt goes to grab more drinks, Carina and Maya ask for two waters. In the back of both of their heads is the fact that they have a quick trip to Disneyland planned for the morning and neither of them want to feel hungover while at an amusement park. Especially not Carina, who has a childlike-excitement about the idea of Disneyland that has been building in her ever since her father cancelled her birthday trip to Disneyland Paris last minute when she was a child. 

After dancing for a little longer, the four of them finally find an open booth and are eager to take a moment to rest their feet. Carina and Maya slide onto one side and Kara and Matt onto the other. Maya’s hand finds Carina’s bare thigh right away, massaging gently and just enjoying feeling close to her. When Kara and Matt get up for a moment to go to the bathroom, Carina puts her hand on top of Maya’s, and gives her the “your hand is getting a little high on my thigh” look. Maya smirks and Carina chuckles, knowing exactly what Maya is thinking.

“Can you be quiet?” Maya whispers next to her ear. Carina nods, having just enough alcohol in her system to convince herself that this is a good idea. Maya presses a little kiss to her girlfriend’s jaw and then Kara and Matt return and slide back into the booth with more water for everyone. Maya’s hand slides higher up Carina’s thigh and then she cups her center, shocked to feel that she’s not wearing underwear either, instead just feeling her bare pussy. Maya pretends to cough to cover her absolute shock, and Carina feigns concern while internally smirking. 

Maya rubs her palm on her bare center for a moment, feeling Carina start to get wet against her fingers. She then helps Carina push her legs apart to give her more space. Above the table, they both hold a conversation about their trip adventures so far, Maya explaining what the camping was like and how they had confirmed that Carina hates camping. Once Carina’s legs are opened wide enough, Maya slides two fingers into her girlfriend, one at a time. Carina tries to take a sip of her drink to give her a moment to adjust while Maya continues her story about how miserably they slept in the tent. She starts with a slow rhythm, allowing Carina to get used to the feeling of her fingers and maintain control over her facial expressions. Carina is quickly soaking her hand and Maya lets a small smile cross her face, excited to be the one on the giving end of the public sex this time. Carina struggles to keep her hips still and to keep up conversation above the table, and Maya bites her lip when she feels Carina’s arousal dripping down her hand. 

“So Carina, how did you end up coming to Seattle from Italy? Seems like kind of a downgrade,” Kara asks with a chuckle. Carina stumbles through the sugar-coated version of the real answer, not able to think or speak clearly while Maya’s fingers are deep inside her, especially once they gently rub against her g spot. Sexy images start to run through her head—Maya naked, spread out, back on the bed, ready to be eaten out; Maya sitting on her face, her eyes closed, biting down on her lip, boobs bouncing; Maya’s legs in the air, over her shoulders as she kneels and licks her. 

What she would give to see Maya naked for her right now. Instead, she simply watches Maya’s arm muscles flex a little with each thrust and eyes her thick, muscular thighs over the jeans that cling to them so well. Maya redirects the conversation to asking them questions, feeling by how Carina starts to tighten around her fingers that she’s getting close. Kara talks about their honeymoon trip to Thailand, and Carina takes the opportunity to rest her head on Maya’s shoulder, still doing her best to pretend to listen. Maya is glad it’s loud in the bar, because she can almost hear the wet, squishy sounds of her fingers thrusting into Carina’s soaked pussy. Carina starts to feel like she’s about to cum and she closes her eyes, her walls tightening and Maya pushing her palm at an awkward angle to rub her clit with her thrusts. Maya bites her lip when her palm touches Carina’s clit, knowing that she’s about to cum just by how swollen and hard it is against her hand. Maya immediately starts trying to think about how she can distract her friends so Carina can cum. 

“Look at that guy over there, did we go to high school with him?” Maya asks, a bit of panic detectable in her voice. “Green shirt,” she adds, not seeing anyone her immediate vision in a green shirt. Kara and Matt both turn to scan the crowd right as Maya pushes harder on Carina’s sensitive clit. That stimulation does it for her and she bites Maya’s shoulder hard to keep her quiet as she cums, her body shaking for a moment as her walls squeeze Maya’s fingers, Maya’s hand completely soaked from her arousal. Maya successfully keeps her friends distracted pinging them around the crowd looking for the man that does not exist until Carina picks her head up, giving her a sated look. 

“I don’t think so, but he does look a little like Chad Noon,” Kara eventually says. Maya has absolutely no idea what person in the crowd Kara is even talking about, and does not remember anyone named Chad Noon, but nods in agreement while drying her wet hand off on her jeans.

“Carina’s back,” Matt teases, watching Carina pick her head up off Maya’s shoulders. 

“Sorry, I’m just really tired. Maya’s been keeping us very busy this past week,” Carina says easily with a smile, leaning in to kiss her girlfriend’s cheek. “I’m going to run to the bathroom quickly,” Carina adds, eyeing Maya. Maya lets Carina get up and then says that she should really go check on her and make sure she’s OK, but she’ll be right back. Instead, Maya follows Carina out the front door. 

“Are we really going to leave without saying goodbye?” Maya questions, watching Carina pull up the Uber app. 

“Yes, I can’t face them for one more moment, I think Matt noticed,” Carina insists. Maya laughs.

“I don’t think he did, but I’ll just message Kara and say you weren’t feeling well so I’m taking you back to the Airbnb,” Maya replies. She hates saying goodbyes anyway, so this seems like a reasonable solution. They slide into the backseat and Carina confirms the address with the driver before laying back, resting on Maya again. Maya takes a look at her phone and messages Kara, noting that it’s only a bit after midnight. What both of them would certainly consider “early” for a night out. 

Back at the Airbnb, Carina raids the snack bag and pulls out a big bag of potato chips that she had bought at a gas station earlier in the week as Maya grabs out more water for them. After a few minutes of standing around the kitchen island eating chips (mostly Carina) and drinking water (mostly Maya), Maya finally shrugs off her leather jacket and Carina is instantly on her, her lips finding her neck right away.

“You look so good in this outfit,” Carina all but growls into her ear. “And it’s my turn.” 

Carina’s hand goes straight to the button on Maya’s jeans, undoing it and sliding the zipper down. She licks, kisses, and then bites down on Maya’s neck, which makes Maya moan and shiver in her arms. Carina then steps back to help her out of her jeans and pull her top over her head. She leaves Maya in just her black lace panties for the moment and orders her to get in the bed. Carina follows her into the bedroom, taking off her own dress, responsibly grabbing a couple of towels and then rummaging through her bag for their ties. Maya lets Carina set the towels down under her and lays on top of them, putting her arms up over her head and lacing her hands together for Carina to tie her up. The sight makes Carina’s pussy throb. 

“I love you,” Carina reminds her, pressing a soft kiss to Maya’s forehead before tying her hands together. Maya tells her it’s a little too loose, so Carina re-ties them until Maya is happy. “But you are so naughty. Making me cum in a public bar? In front of your friends?” 

“What are you going to do about it?” Maya asks, before biting her lip. 

“I’m going to be nice, just this once,” Carina teases. She knows what Maya wants—for Carina to flip her onto her stomach and smack her. And usually, she’s more than willing to give Maya that. But she’s still a little drunk and so is Maya, and “accidentally hurting Maya during sex” is one of her greatest fears, so Carina decides the ties are enough play for the moment. Instead, Carina leans in to kiss her lips. They get lost in the kiss, Maya desperate to show Carina just how much she wants her with just her lips. Carina takes the lead of the kiss, her tongue massaging Maya’s playfully. Maya bites down on her bottom lip, surprising Carina and making her gasp in her mouth. Carina holds her face and controls the kiss, trying to ignore the way her entire body is on fire again, as if she hadn’t just had an orgasm less than half an hour ago. 

Once they finally have to pull away to breathe, Carina moves her lips to kiss down Maya’s neck, over her collarbones, between her breasts, and then down her stomach. Carina then takes a minute to suck on each of her breasts, Maya moaning, arching her back, and tugging on her ties, wishing she could hold Carina’s hair. Carina is sure to roll her tongue over her nipples, suck on them, and then bite them each gently, absolutely loving how hard they get for her and how good it makes Maya feel when she bites them. Eventually, Maya whines and accidentally kicks her back, and Carina takes that as a sign that she’s teased her for long enough. Carina slowly pulls Maya’s soaked panties down her thighs and tosses them on the floor before she gets up on her knees and pulls Maya’s legs onto her shoulders until Maya’s center is right under her mouth. Carina looks down at her girlfriend in excitement, Maya’s eyes closed, her head on the pillow, and her hands tied together above them. 

“What do you want?” Carina asks. Maya’s soaked pussy throbs, and she’s beyond desperate for Carina’s mouth. Maya whines again and tries to get her brain to form a sentence. “Ask nicely,” Carina adds. 

“You...mouth...lick...please,” Maya mumbles. Carina decides that is an acceptable answer and finally licks up her folds. They both moan upon contact, Carina from how wet Maya is and how good she feels and Maya from finally getting her pussy licked. She always gets extremely horny close to her period, and is beyond lucky to have a girlfriend who indulges her desires often. 

Carina holds her legs and places long licks through her folds and up to her clit over and over again, occasionally pausing to suck on her lips or tease her entrance with her tongue. Maya squirms on the bed below her, her back arching and her legs trembling. Carina can’t help but think about how Maya looks so submissive and so beautiful with her hair across the pillow, her hands tied together, her lips swollen from kisses and her nipples hard. Carina’s face gets soaked from Maya’s wetness all over, and both of them lose themselves in the pleasure of Carina licking her upside down while she’s tied up. 

“Oh, Carinaaaaaa,” Maya groans, her back arching again and a desperate, high-pitched sound falling from her lips. Carina starts to suck on her lips and clit gently, alternating sucking and her long licks, flattening her tongue and moaning into her pussy. Carina feels her own arousal starting to drip down her thigh as she enthusiastically eats her girlfriend out. Maya feels the tightening in her lower belly that signifies that she’s close, and Carina knows it too, licking over her swollen clit over and over again in quick, short strokes and grasping her thighs tightly to keep her legs over her shoulders. Maya’s head falls back onto the pillow, her back twists, and she lets out a loud moan when she finally cums, her pussy flooding Carina’s lips and chin as her girlfriend licks her through each little jerk and wave of pleasure until Maya’s legs go limp in her arms. Maya feels the ecstasy through her body as she rides out the last little aftershocks of her orgasm. Carina helps her carefully take her thighs off her shoulders and lays down on top of her to give her a quick kiss and let her taste herself. Maya then slides a thigh between Carina’s legs, smirking at how soaked she is. Carina leans in for another kiss and starts to ride her muscular thigh, loving how good it feels between her legs, rubbing on her pulsing pussy. 

“Yes, fuck, Maya,” Carina moans against her lips. Maya’s hands are still tied, so she can’t hold Carina or grab her ass or scratch her back, but she instead lets Carina ride her thigh frantically, and squeezes her quad muscles to give her even better friction. Carina sits up, her hands on Maya’s hips as she gets an even better angle to ride her. 

“Get on my face,” Maya insists, desperate to taste her girlfriend. Carina is close already, and knows it won’t take long, but agrees to slide her soaked pussy up her body until she straddles her mouth. Carina takes what she needs, letting out visceral moans as she holds the headboard tight and rides her mouth, feeling Maya’s tongue slide through her folds and her nose bump her clit with each eager thrust. Maya savors it—the feeling of Carina getting rough with her, her legs around her head, her pussy pushing down on her mouth hard, and the taste of her girlfriend’s soaked pussy. Carina loses herself in the feeling of fucking Maya’s face until she feels a wave of pleasure hit her hard, catching her by surprise. She smothers Maya briefly when her hips jerk in her orgasm, thinking only about how every nerve ending on her body feels nothing but pleasure in that moment. When she finally comes down, Carina rolls gracelessly off of Maya, landing on her back next to her girlfriend. Carina places a hand on Maya’s stomach just to feel connected to her as they both just lay there for a few minutes, catching their breath. Carina sees Maya’s eyes close and her head rest on the pillow when she remembers that Maya’s hands are still tied together. She gets onto her knees and reaches up to start untying them. 

“Sleep,” Maya insists, rolling onto her stomach and tugging her hands away from Carina’s grasp. 

“Maya, I need to take the ties off before you fall asleep like this,” Carina says firmly, before leaning forward to untie them again. Maya lets her this time, knowing from the tone of her voice that it was probably best. Carina then presses a few soft kisses to her back while she massages her wrists. “Do your wrists feel okay?” 

Maya mentally says yes, but doesn’t say anything out loud. Carina rolls her onto her back and Maya opens her eyes in frustration. “Yes, I’m fine,” she insists, irritation evidence in her voice. 

“Don’t give me that attitude, I’m just making sure your circulation is fine before you fall asleep on me and pass out or something,” Carina retorts, clearly irritated. Maya closes her eyes in defeat, already feeling guilty. Carina pulls the towels off the bed and puts them into the washer before tossing on her pajamas and bringing Maya a shirt to sleep in, tossing it at her. “I’m going to wash up,” Carina mumbles. Maya hits her head against the pillow a couple of times with guilt over how she managed to ruin a wonderful day and sexy evening. Maya drags herself out of bed, puts on the shirt, and knocks on the bathroom door. 

“Give me a second,” Carina insists, her voice a bit weak. Maya opens the door instead, seeing Carina teary eyed over the sink brushing her teeth. 

“Baby, no, I’m sorry, I was just sleepy and being a jerk, I love you and I didn’t mean to ruin our day,” Maya says, words falling out of her mouth without being processed through her brain. She walks towards Carina and Carina spits out her toothpaste, washing out her mouth before picking up a towel to dry it. Carina faces her and holds the bathroom counter, frustration clearly evident on her face.

“You didn’t ruin our day, I’m not crying, I’m just tired, and annoyed, but it’s fine,” Carina insists. Maya chuckles, and Carina glares at her, unamused.

“I’m not trying to laugh at you, it’s just clearly not fine,” Maya says. “I should have been nicer about it, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not a big deal, I’m just irritated because I’m overtired, and you only gave me attitude because you’re overtired, so we both just need some sleep,” Carina explains. She washes her face off quickly and dries it before letting Maya tug her in for a hug. 

“I love you, I appreciate that you are so cautious with being safe especially when we are a little tipsy,” Maya tells her before pressing a soft kiss to her shoulder. “I am sorry.”

“I know,” Carina mumbles, stroking her back gently over her shirt. “Wash up and then be the big spoon and I’ll forgive you.” 

“Done,” Maya replies, smiling up at her. She washes up and then meets Carina back in bed, wrapping her arms around her from behind and taking in the feeling of holding her girlfriend. “Goodnight, Car,” Maya adds, nuzzling into Carina’s neck. 

“Night, bambina,” Carina replies, sleepiness heavy in her voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading! please let me know what you think in the comments and what you're hoping to see out of the last two chapters :)

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! i plan for this fic to be ten chapters, each chapter telling the story of one day on the road trip. i presume that not every chapter will have smut in it, but also, i wouldn't put that past me (or maya and carina). let me know how y'all feel about amount of smut vs. amount of fluff and plot. 
> 
> i am excited about this fic and eager to write, but also want to be forthcoming that i'm currently moving across the country, studying for a big exam, and gearing up to start a new job. i will do my best, and comments will definitely help me stay motivated to put the time in on writing once things get really busy!


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